Audio Outdoorist: A Conversation with the Trade Advisory Council

Hear from OIA’s Director of Policy, Rich Harper, and members of the OIA Trade Advisory Council (OIATAC) as they discuss the council’s important policy role. In this conversation, Rich is joined by:

  • Sara Bowersox, Sr. Manager, Global Trade Compliance, KEEN Footwear
  • Ben Christensen, Vice President, Operations, Simms Fishing Products
  • Jeff Tooze, Vice President, Global Customs & Trade, Columbia Sportswear

OIATAC reviews U.S. trade policy, relevant federal legislation and international trade negotiations, develops federal trade policy that may affect OIA membership and recommends policy positions to OIA government affairs staff and OIA leadership. It is made up of OIA members engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing, and/or distributing outdoor recreation products. It includes representatives from small, medium and large entities representing all segments of the industry, including manufacturing, importers and retailers. OIATAC is administered and supported by OIA government affairs staff. Learn more about OIATAC here.

Subscribe to OIA’s Audio Outdoorist and listen to the full episode and other episodes anytime, anywhere. You can find the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud

Audio Outdoorist: Congressman Joe Neguse

Audio outdoorist

Congressman Joe Neguse (CO-2nd) speaks with OIA’s Director of Policy, Rich Harper, to discuss his recently introduced Civilian Climate Corps proposal, which has been included in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. Neguse also talks about his Parks, Jobs and Equity Act, which would invest millions of dollars into urban parks, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in local economic growth. Rich and the Congressman talk about the industry’s role in passing these measures and why this session might be our best shot and getting the bills through Congress and to the President’s desk.

 

Subscribe to OIA’s Audio Outdoorist and listen to the full episode and other episodes anytime, anywhere. You can find the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud

Audio Outdoorist: Climate Klatch — Episode 2

Welcome to a new Audio Outdoorist series we’re calling the Climate Klatch. A klatch is an informal gathering, usually involving conversations and coffee. In this series, we’ll deliver monthly conversations about climate action. Our goal is to keep you in the know on what’s happening in the outdoor industry and the broader world around the ever-evolving topic. These are meant to be high-level, bite-size insights and updates. Listen while you sip your morning jo, on your commute to work — if you’re still doing that these days — or while you’re getting ready in the morning or taking a short break midday.

In the second episode of our new series that’s all about climate action, Amy Horton, OIA senior director of sustainable business innovation, and Greg Gausewitz, product sustainability manager for REI, chat about the recent release of REI’s updated Impact Standards and how the retailer hopes the new sustainability and DEI standards will drive meaningful shifts among outdoor brands. He previews what REI vendor meetings will look like now that the new standards are out, and he explains why the OIA Climate Action Corps is a great way for brands — whether they sell to REI or not — to affordably and authentically forge a path toward climate positive

Audio Outdoorist: Climate Klatch — Episode 1

Welcome to the first in a new Audio Outdoorist series we’re calling the Climate Klatch. A klatch is an informal gathering, usually involving conversations and coffee. In this series, we’ll deliver monthly conversations about climate action. Our goal is to keep you in the know on what’s happening in the outdoor industry and the broader world around the ever-evolving topic. These are meant to be high-level, bite-size insights and updates. Listen while you sip your morning jo, on your commute to work — if you’re still doing that these days — or while you’re getting ready in the morning or taking a short break midday.

In this first episode, Amy Horton, OIA senior director of sustainable business innovation, and Deborah Williams, OIA director of marketing, communications and storytelling, discuss the most impactful strategies for reducing and reversing global warming by the year 2050 and how the OIA Climate Policy Agenda aims to drive those strategies through a combination of responsible business and federal, state and local legislation.

 

 

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Climate Interactive

Audio Outdoorist: Campfire Conversation: Climate Action After a Pandemic

Can companies in the outdoor industry afford to lean into climate action in the midst and immediate aftermath of a pandemic? For the next hour, you’ll get to listen in as they chat candidly about their respective companies’ approaches to climate and sustainability work. Throughout their conversation, you’ll hear four recurrent themes: risk, resiliency, equity and recovery.

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Audio Outdoorist: Campfire Conversation: How Specialty Retailers Are Reopening, Repositioning or Reinventing After Pandemic

Three specialty retail shop owners across the country and an expert in consumer trends and retail strategy gather around the fire to discuss the immediate aftermath of the COVID “shutdown,” the steps they’re taking to reopen or reposition their businesses, the safety precautions they’re using and how they’re recouping their losses. From day-to-day operations adjustments (adjusted hours, curbside pickup, delivery) to staffing changes; creative inventory strategy to quick-start e-commerce solutions, they’ve responded on the fly and without a roadmap.

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Audio Outdoorist: Campfire Conversation: Bouncing Back – How Resiliency Can Help the Outdoor Industry Move Forward

Outdoor industry businesses and employees have been overwhelmed by the impacts of the COVID-19 situation for months now, trying to stay safe while keeping themselves afloat. But as we begin to realize that COVID-19 will be part of our lives for some time, how do individuals and businesses in the outdoor industry move from treading water to being agile and successful in our “new normal?” Join us around the campfire as we discuss how members of the outdoor industry can create resiliency to adapt to the changing landscape, stay true to their core values, and even thrive while navigating an uncertain future.

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