At a three-day OIA Eco Working Group meeting in Boulder recently, more than 90 participants representing over 50 brands started work on a framework for the new manufacturing index, which will cover the production of apparel, footwear and equipment for the outdoor market.

Speaking to Ecotextile News around the time of the meeting, Kevin Myette, Director of Research and Development at Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) noted the strategy was to “pursue an ‘index’ rather than a ‘label,” as he said the new index would be “internal, design focused and strive for metrics which make things better [within the industry],” whereas pursuing a ‘label’ would be external and consumer focused. “This is a very important and significant decision and was the first formal vote of the committee (voting members),” he said.

During the meeting, attendees split into groups representing apparel, footwear and equipment to discuss how design, materials, toxins, waste and packaging determine a company‘s or a product‘s impact. Members of the Leather Working Group also provided benchmarks with a progress report on their efforts to develop tannery standards, and Alex Boian, OIA director of trade policy, provided an overview of the political environment and sustainability opportunities on the horizon at the government level.

The group now intends to narrow its focus in upcoming months on the definition of the index‘s framework. It also intends to hire a third-party convener to manage the multi-year process of designing the index. The group has now also identified packaging as a potential ‘quick win’ and says it will fast track development of packaging standards.

The next Eco Working Group meeting will be August at the OIA show in Salt Lake City.

"Our future just got a little brighter," summed up Greg Scott, of Mountain Equipment Co-op.