After a successful start less than half a year ago, online gear company Cotopaxi has now expanded into outerwear. Three apparel pieces and a couple of new packs join the lineup of products that all give back to a humanitarian cause–as the company motto states, this is gear for good.
I had the chance to spend some time with founder Davis Smith when he was in town for the San Francisco Questival–the company’s 24 hour outdoor adventure race that gives you the chance to win trips and prizes while experiencing the city and possibly doing some good in the process.
Smith spent much of his life living in Latin America and upon returning to the US with his own family, wanted to find a way to give back to those communities. With experience in running an e-commerce site and the ability to create an extremely knowledgeable team of like-minded individuals (such as Director of Apparel, Cheri Sanguinetti, and Co-Founder/VP of Product, CJ Whittaker), Smith was well positioned to make Cotopaxi a success right out of the gate.
Instead of taking a blanket approach and donating 10% percent of the proceeds to random charity organizations, Davis and his team have so far hand-picked the funding projects behind each piece of gear, whether it is a school in Peru or an orphanage in Tanzania.
The new apparel line is designed to be highly technical, featuring Polartec materials and insulation, without sacrificing aesthetics and style. The fall lineup includes the Sambaya ($129) –a hooded fleece that uses Polartec’s Power Stretch to combine mobility and breathability and offers extended body and sleeve length for layering. Radiating Hope, based in Senegal and providing radiation equipment where cancer care is hard to find, will benefit from the sale.
The Pacaya ($199) is a hooded insulated jacket featuring a nylon-woven face with DWR coating and Alpha Polartec insulation. Polartec Power Stretch on the side and underarms adds breathability and maneuverability. Sale of the Pacaya supports CHOICE Humanitarian, an organization dedicated to capacity-building poverty alleviation.
The waxed canvas Bengal jacket ($269-$279) is a streamlined and classic lifestyle piece, with quilted lining and Alpha Polartec insulation. The sale of these coats assist CHOICE Humanitarian as well.
Cotopaxi sells direct to you in order to eradicate third-party retail markups and maximizing product quality and proceeds for charity projects. All gear can be ordered from the company website.
