The Essentials of Advocacy: Navigating Your Path to Impact

Webinar date: May 7, 2024

Watch our webinar recording and learn how to advocate for the long-term health of the outdoors, outdoor participants, and your company’s bottom line. Industry policy experts share in-depth exploration of the policy landscape, why it’s relevant to your business, and how you can drive change at scale. From conservation and public lands management to sustainability initiatives and equitable access, we explore the key policy areas that impact our industry. Watch our webinar to feel empowered and ready to raise your voice.  

 

Webinar: Introducing OIA’s New Clean Chemistry and Materials Coalition

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Live Date: July 13, 2023 at 1 pm MT

Are you ready to engage and support the outdoor industry’s journey to phase out and eliminate harmful chemistry in outdoor products? Watch our webinar to learn more about OIA’s new sustainability program, working group, and consulting service: Clean Chemistry and Materials Coalition (CCMC). 

 

Whether you are just starting out on the trail or cresting the summit to PFAS elimination or other sustainability measures, OIA’s CCMC supports outdoor retailers, brands, manufacturers, and distributors with scalable action plans for eliminating and replacing harmful chemicals and materials, delivering supply chain transparency, recycling and emission disclosures, and more. 

 

Watch our July 13th webinar to gain insight into what you can expect to achieve as part of OIA’s CCMC community. We introduce our team of technical experts and share why clean chemicals innovation is imperative for your brand, steps you can take towards PFAS elimination now, what that phase-out journey will look like, and how you can engage directly with our consultants and working groups to uncover reliable and durable alternatives.  

 

Together we are catalysts for sustainable growth. Join us.

Panelists:

  • Sarah Rykal, Director of Sustainable Innovation, OIA

  • Michelle Legatt, Technical Advisor, OIA CCMC

    • As the Technical Advisor for OIA’s Clean Chemistry and Materials Coalition, Michelle assists OIA members in navigating chemicals management and sustainability initiatives throughout their supply chain. Prior to working with OIA, Michelle has spent the last 18 years working in innovation, product development, and sustainability roles at a variety of companies in the consumer goods sector.

  • James Pollack, Legislative Advisor, OIA CCMC

    • James Pollack serves as the Legislative Advisor for the OIA Clean Chemistry and Materials Coalition, assisting OIA members in understanding and navigating chemicals and sustainability compliance legislation and regulations. He is also an associate with Marten Law, leading the firm’s consumer products regulatory practice. He helps consumer product manufacturers in the apparel, outdoor, and food products industries who are working to understand the complicated and shifting regulatory and litigation environments surrounding emerging contaminants. James has extensive knowledge on PFAS regulatory compliance at the federal and state level.

Follow-Up Q&A

Suppliers have said they can provide C0 chemistry. Should we test these to the Total Organic Fluorine 50ppm threshold? Should we test these for individually testable PFAS?

Your testing decisions will depend on several factors. First, what is your goal and intention for the data? Testing C0 chemistry for ToF (Total Organic Flourine) may provide you with verification of supplier representations, or it can provide you with indications of PFAS unintentionally added or cross-contaminating your products. Testing for individual PFAS, in comparison, may help you understand what specific compounds are found in your products.
Second, what is your overall risk tolerance and communication strategy with regard to PFAS? Different laws have set different thresholds based on either ToF or particular PFAS. For only one example, California’s AB 1817 includes a phased set of ToF thresholds, including 100ppm and 50ppm depending on the year. If you are creating a compliance strategy, you may want to follow the thresholds provided by law. However, if you are looking to make marketing representations related to PFAS content, you may be interested in implementing a different set of thresholds. We look forward to discussing testing best practices and how different brands are approaching these issues at future CCMC events.

Are chemical companies working on alternative chemistries?

Yes, most chemical suppliers familiar with textile applications now offer PFAS-free alternatives. Other chemical suppliers, newly entering the market, have expertise in the alternative chemistry (ie silicones or polyurethanes). Additionally, a handful of new start-ups, incorporating other environmental co-benefits, have also launched PFAS-free solutions.

Can we expect to hear from experts at testing labs in upcoming webinars?

At least one of our upcoming Working Group Monthly meetings will focus on PFAS testing. We are exploring options for working with testing labs and will have more information available in the near future.

Will you have guidance for PFAS regulations in Europe?

Yes, we are partnering with the European Outdoor Group to provide updates on legislation in the EU. EOG staff will attend a CCMC Working Group meeting in October to provide information to CCMC members.

What materials/resources are available for CCMC members now?

  • Educational one-pagers
    • Legislative One-Pager with a summary of PFAS regulations
    • Background and Business Case
    • Formulation Assessment/What to ask your chemical suppliers
    • Supplier engagement
    • Testing
  • Regulatory timeline with key dates for compliance
  • Regulatory tracker with detailed information all enacted PFAS laws by state
  • Weekly group office hours with technical advisor, Michelle Legatt
  • Monthly group office hours with legislative advisor, James Pollack
  • Monthly CCMC Working Group meetings
  • Monthly Sustainability Policy Strategy Working Group meetings
  • Online Member Community to share questions and best practices with other outdoor companies
  • Quarterly webinars
  • Coming Soon: CCMC Guidebook for PFAS Phase-Out

Webinar: IP Protection Strategies

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Live Date: May 17, 2023 at 1 pm MT

Innovation is key to growth, especially for companies in the outdoor industry where upgrades and improvements are vital to survival in today’s market. Once you have harnessed that innovation, the next critical step is making sure to protect your work and your brand from all angles. Intellectual property strategies can give your company a competitive edge, but it’s important to understand which one is right for your unique business and products. Maschoff Brennan Shareholder Paul Johnson will discuss:

  • Utility patents
  • Trademarks
  • Design patents
  • Trade Secrets

Webinar: Data Privacy and Cybersecurity in the Outdoor Industry

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Live Date: May 3, 2023 at 1 pm MT

With an ever-changing legal landscape, data can be a land of opportunity or a serious liability. In this webinar, Ballard Spahr’s privacy attorneys provide an overview of the state of the law, highlight regulatory and litigation trends, examine vulnerabilities relating to common cookies and analytical tools, and discuss the mechanics and legal implications of data connectivity and digital marketplaces that are growing in popularity.

Speakers:

Greg Szewczyk is a partner in Ballard Spahr’s Denver and Boulder offices and a Practice Co-Leader of the Privacy and Data Security Group. Greg leverages over a decade of experience in high stakes litigation to help companies assess risk and comply with the ever expanding patchwork of state, federal, and international privacy and data security statutes and regulations.

Kelsey Fayer is an associate in Ballard Spahr’s Litigation Department, focusing her practice in the Privacy and Data Security Group. Kelsey assists clients in complying with various privacy and data security laws, including the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR), the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK[1]GDPR), the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA), the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the China Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), the Canada Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), the Canada Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and Mexico’s Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties.