With the close of the Winter Olympics yesterday, I wanted to draw your attention to one of the coolest style stories that I learned about during the Games.
Roots is a clothing company that’s based firmly in Canada. It’s not an official sponsor of the games this year, although it has been in the past. There’s been a bit of controversy over the fact that the company has promoted patriotic athletic wear over the last few months, apparently in an attempt to conduct ambush marketing, but that’s all by-the-by in this story.
I want to talk about Roots. As well as having some really great clothes, this company has rock solid green credentials and seems to genuinely go the extra mile when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility.
Any company that’s honestly considering ‘going green’ could do a lot worse than look at this section of the Roots website to get an idea of what proper green looks like. The company doesn’t only look at the green spec of the clothes that it stocks, it also takes into account everything from the packaging of its suppliers and the carbon footprint of its stores, right through to offsetting any purchase that requires delivery.
It is incumbent on every company and individual to act responsibly and to do what they can to minimize their environmental impact.
Roots doesn’t just talk the talk. As well as taking respectable measures to protect the environment, it recognises that companies have a responsibility to the communities in which they exist and operate. It has a really close relationship with the charity Right To Play, a Toronto based organization with international programs all over the world. The charity has earned widespread respect for its work with disadvantaged children and communities the world over. Roots raises money for the organization with a line of athletic clothing.
‘Right To Play’ was founded by Johann Olav Koss (aka Big Boss Koss), one of the world’s best speed-skaters. His most famous success came in 1994 when he won three gold medals at the Lillehammer Olympics, all with new world records. How fitting then, that Roots has had such a well-recognized presence over the course of these Games in Canada. Over the last couple of weeks, the clothing range has been spotted on some of the biggest names around, including Wayne Gretzky, the man that took the Olympics to Vancouver. We talked last week about the power of the eco-t-shirt and what it means to wear your beliefs on your sleeve. This is the perfect example of that in action.
If the Olympics has left you in an athletic fervor, take a look at our most popular active-wear top and, in particular, our great selection of kit that’s just perfect for winter sports.
(Thanks to Ivan Zuber for the image)
