Topic/Keyword: Climate

CCS Guidance for Tier 1 Vendors

A Practical Roadmap to Textile Exchange Certification

Certification is becoming a baseline expectation as global regulation tightens and brands face growing pressure to substantiate the sustainability claims they make about their products. Tier 1 factories sit at a critical point in that chain. When finished-product manufacturers achieve certification, they unlock real value for themselves and their brand partners, from full chain of custody to favorable product placement with retailers marketing sustainability attributes.

Yet the path to certification is often unclear, with unfamiliar documentation requirements, material handling procedures, and audit processes that can make getting started feel daunting. To address this, a coalition of OIA members, including Columbia Sportswear Company, The North Face, Patagonia, KEEN, Burton, L.L. Bean, Stanley, and FENIX Outdoor, formed a task force to help increase certification rates among Tier 1 factories.

The result is OIA’s Content Claim Standard Guidance for Tier 1 Vendors. Built from interviews with certified and non-certified suppliers, certification bodies, and Textile Exchange, the guide clarifies the full certification process for the OCS, GRS, RCS, RDS, RWS, RMS, RAS, and CCS standards. It covers:

Determining your certification scope, including standards, facilities, and processes
Finding a certification body and building management systems
Preparing for and completing your audit
Applying for and issuing scope and transaction certificates
Product-specific considerations for complex outdoor gear, footwear, and hard goods
Certification costs, claims eligibility, and additional resources

Whether you are exploring certification for the first time or refining an existing program, the guide is designed to make certification more attainable. It is available in English, Vietnamese, and Bengali.

ESPR Policy Brief

What the EU’s Ecodesign Regulation Means for Outdoor Brands

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is a landmark EU framework that will reshape how textiles and apparel are designed, sold, and tracked—and the implications for the outdoor industry are significant. The regulation applies to any company placing covered products on the EU market, regardless of where it is based. Some compliance deadlines are already in effect, and others are approaching fast, which makes understanding what is required, and when, essential for any brand or retailer selling in Europe.

OIA’s sustainability team has prepared a new policy brief that gives outdoor companies a practical overview of what ESPR requires and how to prepare. It breaks down reporting obligations, ecodesign requirements for textiles, Digital Product Passport rules, and the steps your team can take now ahead of the Textile Delegated Act expected in late 2027. Whether your products are directly in scope or you sit further down the supply chain, understanding these changes is a must.

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2025 OIA Sustainability’s Impact Report

A Year of Collective Progress for the Outdoor Industry

2025 was a defining year for the outdoor industry—tested by unprecedented tariffs, economic pressure, and mounting compliance obligations, yet strengthened by collaboration. OIA Sustainability’s first-ever Impact Report captures the year in full, with more than 500 individuals from 118 companies driving collective progress across climate, chemistry, and compliance—from Climate Action Corps milestones and a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement supporting 18.5 megawatts of renewable energy to new Clean Chemistry guidebooks, expanded policy resources, and the launch of OIA Learning. Whether you’re shaping strategy, tracking progress, or building industry partnerships, this report shows what’s possible when the industry chooses collaboration over retreat.

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Explore the 2025 OIA Sustainability Program

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EU CSRD and CSDDD Webinar

What the EU’s New Sustainability Directives Mean for You

The EU’s Omnibus Simplification Package has finalized the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)—and the implications for the outdoor industry are significant. OIA’s sustainability team was joined by Francesca Fina of Ohana Public Affairs for a webinar that breaks down the finalized requirements, which companies now fall within scope, and how these directives could ripple through outdoor brands even if they sit outside the thresholds. Whether your business is directly in scope or not, understanding these landmark changes is a must.

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Guide to Comply

Stay Ahead of Sustainability Compliance

Keeping up with sustainability laws across the U.S. and Canada is becoming increasingly complex—and the cost of falling behind is rising. OIA’s updated 2026 Guide to Comply cuts through the noise with a 20+ page resource covering the specific regulations impacting the outdoor industry right now, from climate accountability and PFAS rules to Extended Producer Responsibility and green claims best practices. Whether you’re navigating new state-level emission mandates or refining your sustainability messaging, this guide gives your team the clarity needed to stay compliant.

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Access the guide: Click Here

Sustainability Marketing Webinar

How to Market Sustainability Without the Greenwashing Risk

As outdoor brands increasingly promote their sustainability efforts, global regulators are cracking down on greenwashing—and the legal stakes are rising. OIA Legislative Consultant James Pollack walked through current marketing regulations and key litigation, followed by a panel hosted by OIA’s Keelin Christensen with the Black Diamond team on how their marketing and sustainability departments collaborate to craft compliant messaging that resonates with environmentally conscious consumers. Whether you’re in marketing, product, or materials, this session offers a clear understanding of the regulations to know and strategies for authentic communication.

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How Outdoor Brands Are Reducing Textile Emissions with Smarter Energy Solutions

Reducing emissions in textile production isn’t just an environmental responsibility—it’s a business necessity. Consumers expect brands to take meaningful action on sustainability, and regulations are pushing companies to reduce their carbon footprints. One of the biggest challenges? The fossil fuel-based heating systems used in textile manufacturing.

Traditional heating methods rely on coal, gas, or oil, making them a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The textile and apparel industry alone contributes about 2% of global emissions, and with demand increasing, that number will only grow. If your brand is committed to lowering emissions, tackling the energy sources used in textile mills is a critical step.

A Practical Solution to Help You Reduce Emissions

To support this transition, Outdoor Industry Association, in partnership with Global Efficiency Intelligence and OIA member brands like Cotopaxi, L.L. Bean, New Balance, Patagonia, REI Co-op, and W.L. Gore & Associates, have launched the Textile Heating Electrification Tool. This open-source resource helps mills and brands transition from fossil fuels to electric heating by providing data on energy use, cost savings, and emissions reduction. It supports sustainability goals, regulatory compliance, and long-term efficiency.

Why This Matters for Your Brand

Sustainability goals can’t be met without action at the manufacturing level. The heating systems used in textile mills account for a significant share of supply chain emissions, and electrification is one of the most effective ways to lower them.

This tool provides clear, actionable insights to help businesses:

Understand their current heating systems and identify where fossil fuel use can be reduced.

Evaluate electric alternatives that work for different textile processes.

Make informed investment decisions with data on costs, feasibility, and emissions reductions.

Andrew Dempsey, Director of Climate at REI Co-op, explained the importance of this issue:

“At REI, we believe progress on climate solutions happens through collaboration. Our goal is to cut emissions in half by 2030, but we can’t get there without working closely with our brand and manufacturing partners. Electric heat technologies are essential for decarbonizing textile manufacturing, and this tool gives us the data we need to move forward with confidence.”

Collaboration Makes Sustainability More Achievable

Developed under OIA’s Clean Heat CoLab, this tool embodies a collaborative approach to tackling industry challenges. OIA Impact CoLabs help brands and suppliers work closely, advancing sustainability goals more efficiently while lowering costs.

Julie Brown, Director of Sustainable Business Innovation at Outdoor Industry Association, highlighted the significance of this initiative:

“The launch of the Textile Heating Electrification Tool marks a major step in our industry’s collective effort to cut emissions in textile manufacturing. This tool combines expertise from across the outdoor industry to provide mills with the insights they need to transition to cleaner, more sustainable heating technologies.”

How to Get Started

This tool is designed to help businesses like yours take meaningful steps toward emissions reductions. If your brand works with textile suppliers, this is a resource that can drive real change.

Watch the webinar recording below and download our one-pager to start using this tool for smarter decision-making in your business.

Want to go further? Contact sustainability@outdoorindustry.org to get involved in OIA’s sustainability programs and work toward a lower-carbon future.

Collaboration: The Key to Impactful Climate Action

A Letter from Greg Gausewitz, REI Co-Op Senior Manager of Product Sustainability and OIA Sustainability Advisory Council Co-Chair

Happy New Year! As we cross the mid-point of this decade, we’re offered an opportunity to reflect on the current moment and set our sights on the path ahead. Many of our organizations have set multi-year, science-aligned climate targets that come due in or near 2030. That means many of us are near the half-way mark in pursuing our near-term climate goals. What have we learned? What might we change to accelerate and deepen our impact going forward?

In my role at REI, I have the privilege of working with the world’s leading outdoor brands, many of which are also global leaders in sustainability. Yet, no one organization has all the answers about how to solve climate change. Overcoming this challenge will require a deep commitment to collaboration – and action.

We’ve seen effective climate collaboration become increasingly commonplace. We need look no further than the OIA’s Climate Action Corps CoLabs to observe this in our industry, and many collaborative initiatives have emerged outside our industry. I encourage any brand looking to build momentum in their sustainability efforts to consider how they can participate in collaborative initiatives with other organizations.

I’ve been inspired to see so many brands, big and small, rise to the occasion in taking climate action. REI recently partnered with OIA and Change Climate to host climate workshops to provide guidance to brand partners. Some of the most engaged brands were also the smallest. Several mom-and-pop brands, some with only a handful of employees, made massive progress in their climate efforts: measuring their emissions, setting reduction targets, and putting in place action plans to reduce their emissions. It was a powerful reminder that taking action is simply a choice. No brand is too small to have an impact.

As we look to the latter half of the decade, we have more tools than ever to make meaningful progress in our fight against climate change. We’re seeing the rapid emergence of next-generation materials that offer significant carbon savings. We’re seeing more opportunities to collaborate with our suppliers to transition away from high-emitting manufacturing processes and bring more clean energy online in our supply chains. And we’re seeing new tools like The Climate Label emerge that promise to spur climate action and enable brands to connect with our customers in new ways.

I’m excited for what’s ahead, and I look forward to collaborating with this community to steward the outdoors we all love for generations to come.

Greg Gausewitz

Sr. Manager, Product Sustainability at REI

Co-Chair, Climate Action Corps Advisory Council