Go-Lite: on the Planet

Go-Lite: on the Planet - 22 Jul 2007

I think a lot of people (probably more so in Europe) have forgotten about a great USA brand that is once again pushing the headlines – GoLite. This company, based in beautiful Boulder (Colorado) has some very aggressive objectives in its “GoLite on the Planet” campaign that I recommend you visit on their website. What caught my eye amongst other things was their goal to be carbon neutral by 2010 – which is pretty impressive for a company that size!

While I was talking with Mark Flannagan (European General Manager), who has a remarkable talent for story telling, he kept repeating their deep down engagements for minimizing their footprint and it felt really good to hear all the examples he had. What really came across was that each employee was personally engaged to do his or her part to change course.

GoLite also subscribes to the concept of the “triple bottom line” where a company is judged not only by its financial results but by its impact on its community and the environment.

Some of things that I came away with from our conversation:
1) they encourage a lifestyle shift to a “less is more” approach
2) they use all non-solvent, water-based fabric membranes in their apparel
3) they do not use PVCs in their apparel line
4) products are packaged using soy-based inks and recycled paper and materials.

At the show they had a number of eco-friendly products but we specifically looked at the DriMove Performance layers, made from 100% recycled polyester waffle knit and Cocona panels. Cocona is made from discarded coconut shells whose meat and juice have been sourced for produce. Activated carbon from the shells is bonded to polyester, creating a fabric that has superior moisture management, absorbs odors without chemicals and blocks harmful UV rays from the sun.

I think GoLite is far more than a collection of products. It has a mindset, a mission, and an ideal that influences every design, concept and idea. I like its philosophy to do much more with much less and about being unburdened by the superfluous, over-engineered, or obsolete.

Now if only we could only convince more companies to start working with this mindset…

Posted by: andrew
Tags: brands, shows