At a 2 December meeting of the Commercial Questions Group (a Council Committee) EU Member States voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to extend the anti-dumping duties on leather footwear from Vietnam and China for another 15 months. It is likely that this decision will be ratified by Council before Christmas.

This decision is a huge disappointment to the European Footwear Alliance (which includes the European Outdoor Group, FESI and EBFC) which has invested considerable time, energy and resources to the campaign, as well as to many EU Member States and to retailers and consumer groups throughout the continent. (more…)

The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap is a clothing industry initiative established since September 2007 involving over 300 companies along the clothing supply chain and co-ordinated by Defra (the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to provide a platform for an integrated approach to improving the environmental and ethical performance of clothing throughout the sector. While it operates out of the UK, it has international linkages in order to influence the global supply chains manufacturing most UK consumed clothes, 90% of which are imported. The aim is to drive sustainability from retailers down through the clothing -supply chain and fast track best practice through establishing sound science based EVIDENCE and agreeing prioritised ACTIONS (short to long term) and disseminating industry best practice cases in order to catalyse change throughout the sector. (more…)

Consumers are taking control of in-bound communication channels, unsubscribing to irrelevant email, and defecting from brands that continue to deliver irrelevant content and random mass mailings, according to a new poll from Boulder, US based Chief Marketing Officer Council and InfoPrint Solutions Company.

While 64% of consumers say promotional offers dominate both the email and traditional mail they receive, only 41% view these as must-read communications. Of the 91% of consumers who opt out or unsubscribe to emails, 46% are said to be driven to brand defection because the messages are simply not relevant. (more…)

SNEWS, the leading trade news service for the US outdoor and fitness market (www.snewsnet.com), recently took a look at how retail fared over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, considered to be the official kick-off of the US holiday shopping season. The European Outdoor Group is excerpting it here with permission.

Black Friday arrived almost as soon as the turkey was consumed for some shoppers, with stores opening even earlier than ever this year. Retailers were nervous and consumers were, it appears, very eager to shop as long as shopping involved a bargain price for great product. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Black Friday did not disappoint in terms of the numbers of shoppers, but folks were keeping a tight rein on their wallets. In its Black Friday summary report released on November 29, NRF stated 195 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million in 2008. However, as expected, average spending dropped from USD$372.57 in 2008 to USD$343.31 this year. Total spending reached USD$41.2 billion. (more…)

The Sustainability Working Group has been moving forward quite quickly on various aspects within its remit.

A formal agreement has now been put in place and announced to the press regarding the OIA and the EOG working together. The aim is to facilitate cross-adoption throughout the industry and optimise stakeholder engagement. To this end, Anne Girard from Petzl, who is co-chair of the EOG’s Sustainability Working Group (SWG) and Jill Dumain from Patagonia, who is chair of the OIA Sustainability and Fair Labor Advisory Council will lead the coordination efforts between the two groups. (more…)

Today the European Commission Anti-dumping Advisory Committee (ADC) rejected the European Commission’s proposal for a 15 month extension to the anti-dumping duties currently in place for leather footwear from China and Vietnam. The ADC is made up of Member State representatives responsible for trade defence issues, typically these would be officials from each country’s ministry of finance or the economy. (more…)

Zug, Switzerland - In an attempt to give some clarity to the different regulations, standards and labels associated with sustainability within the outdoor sector, the Standards and Regulations Committee (part of the Sustainability Working Group), will aim to compile the definitive industry resource in the form of an open database. (more…)

In an attempt to give some clarity to the different regulations, standards and labels associated with sustainability within the outdoor sector, the Standards and Regulations Committee (part of the Sustainability Working Group), will aim to compile the definitive industry resource in the form of an open database. (more…)

The European Outdoor Group (EOG) and the Outdoor Industry Association(OIA) have recently made a commitment to cooperate (more…)

Zug, Switzerland – The European Outdoor Group (EOG) and the Outdoor Industry Association(OIA) have recently made a commitment to cooperate on the two organisations individual sustainability projects ensuring the production of complementary tools for the outdoor sectors companies. The aim is to facilitate cross-adoption throughout the industry and optimise stakeholder engagement. (more…)