The North Face President Todd Spaletto and U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell have announced a partnership to protect, preserve and celebrate public lands in support of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC).
The North Face will make a donation of $250,000 to the 21CSC and also launched a new commercial campaign as a key component of the initiative, featuring a new recording of Woody Guthrie’s anthem “This Land is Your Land” by two-time Grammy nominee My Morning Jacket. The song is available on iTunes, with more than half of each download going to 21CSC, as My Morning Jacket will donate their portion of the proceeds to the initiative. Funds raised will create jobs for youth and returning veterans through 21CSC projects on public lands across the nation — from Golden Gate National Recreation Area to Everglades National Park.
The commercial features cinematic footage of The North Face global athlete team members and enthusiasts skiing, running, climbing and hiking. The spot launched on YouTube on October 27 and will debut on national TV on November 9 (NBC Sunday Night Football) running through the end of December on NBC, ESPN, USA Network, Comedy Central and more. The campaign also will be supported by advertising across digital and social channels such as Hulu, YouTube, ESPN, VICE and Facebook, starting on November 10.
The three-month brand campaign also features a partnership with Outside magazine. The North Face and Outside created a list of 50 amazing places to explore across the U.S., and explorers will be encouraged to take a photo of themselves recreating at these and other iconic outdoor destinations and share on social channels using #seeforyourself.
Earlier this year, The North Face announced a series of updates to its CSR agenda, including using 100 percent recycled content for all of its polyester fabric by 2016. The most significant updates focued on increased use of recycled content in apparel, an extended lifecycle for products through Clothes the Loop, a clothing take-back program, reduction in environmental impacts, and the launch of the Responsible Down Standard (RDS), a universal standard for improved animal welfare throughout the brand’s down supply chain.
The North Face, H&M, Eddie Bauer and several other leading international fashion, bedding and outdoor brands recently adopted a third-party certification standard that can be applied to any waterfowl-based supply chain to help ensure humane treatment of animals from gosling to end product. Created by the nonprofit, Textile Exchange, the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) strives to enable traceability and change the down industry as a whole, not just one brand’s supply chain. Certain brands have committed to introducing certified down into their products beginning as soon as Fall 2015, and The North Face has committed to 100 percent certified and responsibly sourced down across all product lines by 2017.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Oct 29, 2014 11am EDT / 8am PDT / 3pm GMT / 4pm CET