Each day, leading outdoor retailer REI offers top gear and apparel from thousands of established and up-and-coming outdoor brands. During the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show, REI recognized vendor partners who have made a significant impact to the co-op's mission with its Vendor Partner of the Year awards. This year, the co-op also recognized the inaugural winner of the REI Root award, which celebrates industry-leading sustainable product design.
Brooks, headquartered in Seattle, Wash., received the co-op's overarching Vendor Partner of the Year award for its partnership to consistently provide best-in-class product, superior customer service and support across the co-op's many programs.
The Vendor Partner of the Year awards program was established by REI in 1993. Each year, companies are nominated by the co-op's three merchandising divisions – Camp/Climb, Actionsports and Outdoorwear – for partnering with REI to meet customer needs, raise the bar for product quality and drive sustainable business practices.
The co-op's Root Award was created in 2016 to celebrate the gritty, below-the-surface determination that drives sustainability innovation in the outdoor industry.
This year, REI recognized the Columbia OutDry Extreme ECO Jacket, a high performance, waterproof, breathable jacket made without perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) or dyes. The OutDry Extreme ECO is made from 21 recycled plastic bottles and is a bluesign® certified product, further lowering the jacket's scientifically measured environmental footprint. To learn more about the OutDry Extreme ECO story, please visit http://blog.columbia.com/preview-outdry-extreme-eco/.