Records were broken for the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) at the recent OutDoor by ISPO trade show in Munich in terms of the amount of money raised for conservation. Generous donations by members to the Conservation Fundraiser, the number of members organising fundraising events on their own stands for EOCA and new members signing up to the association all contributed to €39,342 being raised in just four days of the show.
For the conservation fundraiser, Thule donated 400 packs from a variety of day packs to expedition packs and Exped donated 100s of products including hammocks and drybags. KEEN Footwear held the ever-popular KEEN Care Sandal Sale and also raised money from various other events and at their infamous KEENFest BBQ.
Klean Kanteen, Stanley, E9, Ternua and Laken all produced their own re-usable mugs and bottles for use round the show and raised money for EOCA on their stands. Lowe Alpine asked for donations for their Aeon pack and Bergans of Norway brought the results of a ReDesign event they had held in conjunction with Globetrotter in their Hamburg store, raising money for the association.
100% of the €39,342 total raised will be spent on conservation projects via EOCA, with some earmarked for the Plastic Free: Mountain to Sea fundraiser project Ocean Initiatives and some of which will fund a specific project being sponsored by KEEN Footwear
With every €10 raised for the Ocean Initiatives project funding the clearing up of plastic pollution from habitat the size of two Olympic-sized swimming pools, the amount raised specifically for that project by Klean Kanteen, Stanley, Ternua, Laken, Bergans of Norway and Exped will clear an area the size of an amazing 1971 swimming pools in total.
EOCA reported that five new members decided to join the association during or immediately after the exhibition, bringing the number of new members so far this year to 18. The new members are Danish shoe manufacturer and retailer ECCO; plant-based, food grade skincare company Skinourishment llc; Leadership & Sustainability Karin Ekberg GmbH which delivers a broad spectrum of consulting, empowerment and business models, software and tools in the sustainability area; Mund Socks, producer of technical mountain and sport socks and compression garments and Gumbies, producer of sustainable flip flops and other footwear.
Joint General Manager Tanya Bascombe said, “There is enormous momentum growing around EOCA at the moment. With the fundraising, the huge growth in members this year and the excitement surrounding the Plastic Pledge, the organisation’s reach has really stepped up a gear. It is thanks to the huge support of our members and the industry working together that we are able to do this.”
What is EOCA?
The European Outdoor Conservation Association is an initiative from the European outdoor industry with the objective of protecting the wild areas it cares so passionately about.
Designed to harness the incredible power of the outdoor industry and to raise money to donate to grassroots conservation groups, the European Outdoor Conservation Association is funded by membership and other fundraising activities within the outdoor industry. 100% of membership fees go to the support of projects. Membership is open to anyone that can demonstrate an involvement in the European outdoor industry.
From January 2015, a select group of ‘Sustaining Members’ have pledged their support to EOCA by committing to fund the sustainable growth of the organisation with an extra €10,000 per year over and above their annual membership fee. This money will be used to finance the running of the Association and support its sustainable growth, also enabling a move to 2 funding rounds per year.
The current EOCA Sustaining Members are Pertex, KEEN Footwear, The North Face, Nikwax, ISPO and OutDoor by ISPO (Messe München) and the European Outdoor Group, which is also the Founder Member of the Association.
Traynor On The Trail 