We’re out there with you. On the winding trails. In the deep, cool of the forests. In the wind blowing across the great open spaces. High up on the knife edge of a ridge. We love to wander through the woods watching the fall leaves spiral to the ground. We push ourselves to be faster and better, feeling the rush of breath in our lungs as we summit a peak. We hold hands on soft snowy trails, and kneel down next to our kids to inspect a centipede or teach them the name of a trillium.
Like you, we can’t imagine a world without these outdoor spaces − the places where we can get lost and find ourselves again, unplug so we can reconnect, push the limits only to find out we can go further than we ever imagined. That’s why the ethos of conservation and the commitment to preserve and protect our public lands was woven into the fabric of our company from the beginning.
The Conservation Alliance's mission is to engage businesses to fund and partner with organizations to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values.
Founded in 1989 by four of the outdoor industry’s most iconic brands – REI, Patagonia, The North Face, and Kelty – The Conservation Alliance has grown to more than 230 brands.
“We are the only coalition of businesses that funds grassroots conservation organizations working to protect North America’s wild places” said Kirsten Blackburn, Advocacy Program Manager.
The Conservation Alliance advocates for the protection of public lands in three different ways. The first is through the allocation of grants. 100% of membership dues go into the grant fund, grant applicants are nominated by The Conservation Alliance membership, and twice a year, members receive a ballot where they vote for their top 10 picks from a slate of finalists, narrowed down by The Conservation Alliance staff members and board.
The second is through direct political advocacy. Once a grant has been funded, The Conservation Alliance then takes an active role representing the collective voice of its members to advocate for and support the project. That advocacy work includes letters to elected officials signed by member companies, other letter writing campaigns, getting opinion pieces published as editorials in local, regional, and national newspapers, and social media action. But the most direct political advocacy comes when the Conservation Alliance assembles its members, and outdoor industry leaders in Washington, DC for a day of direct political action. Participants receive a full day of training, and then divide up into teams to speak directly with members of Congress about the importance of public lands and to advocate for specific conservation bills and legislation.
The third is through a separate grant fund created in 2016 specifically to support political and policy advocacy, the Public Lands Defense Fund. “Following the election, we anticipated unprecedented attacks on public lands,” said Blackburn. “Our response was to increase our advocacy capacity.”
Farm to Feet has been a Conservation Alliance member since the beginning, and through our membership we have the opportunity to vote on which grants receive funding. It’s one of the ways we directly participate in the act of building and protecting public lands. The voting process is open to all employees, so the projects that we select are chosen by everyone here.
Over the past few years, we have also joined the coalition of brands on Capitol Hill, speaking directly to members of Congress about why public lands are so important to Farm to Feet directly and to you, our customers.
“We wanted to take an even more active role,” says Farm to Feet’s Sustainability Manager. “Our customers are using our products out in these wild spaces, and we feel a responsibility to protect them. We also wanted to gain a better understanding of how conservation policy is shaped in Washington so that we can have a greater impact and voice. From a personal standpoint, it was an amazing experience to have the opportunity to take part in protecting the things that I value.”
As the guardians of the Appalachian Trail, the ATC’s role is to preserve and protect the AT. Their work encompasses everything from trail maintenance to public policy work, to protecting and preserving the land around the AT, beyond simply the footpath.
“A huge part of what makes the AT unique is the wilderness experience,” said Chris Blosser, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the ATC. “So, protecting it means more than just protecting the footpath itself. It means protecting the land around the trail, so it’s not squeezed between a Starbucks on one side and a McDonald’s on the other.”
Our first technical hiking sock was named Damascus, after the iconic trail community in Virginia that hosts National Trail Days. The trail was our inspiration for the first design, and as we developed and expanded the line, it was important to us to have a direct connection between our socks and protecting and advocating for the trail.
The two biggest threats facing the AT right now are overuse and increased development pressure on the land around the trail. While the footpath itself is protected, the small communities that are the lifeblood of the trail are getting squeezed out as property values shoot sky high.
“We have these communities along the trail bear the brunt of the impact without reaping a lot of the rewards,” Blosser explained. “These small mom and pop shops are going to sell out if they don’t have a viable economy. Part of our role is to help them develop the outdoor and recreational economy, and to educate trail users about the importance of supporting the local communities in addition to simply using the resource (the trail).”
As a company producing 100% American Made socks, supporting local economies is something we are deeply committed to, and we’re excited to be collaborating with the ATC to strengthen the connections between AT users and the local communities the trail connects.
Farm to Feet is a proud supporter of the ATC and their mission to preserve and manage the Appalachian Trail, ensuring that its vast natural beauty and priceless cultural heritage can be shared and enjoyed today, tomorrow, and for centuries to come.
“The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is known as America’s wilderness trail because it crosses 48 Congressionally designated wilderness areas,” explains Angie Williamson, Director of Philanthropy for the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA). “Some people might think that the PCT is completely funded by the government, but we work with many volunteers and community members who are passionate about supporting the trail.”
Indeed, as a nonprofit the Pacific Crest Trail Association has been bolstered by many volunteers who have adopted 1,929 miles (about 73%) of the trail, putting more than 118,000 hours toward maintenance efforts just last year, and receives about 74% of its funding from private donors. Williamson reiterates that “for some, this work is their outdoor recreation.”
The primary areas of focus for the PCTA are the preservation, protection, and promotion of the Pacific Crest Trail. In addition to volunteer trail maintenance, the Association does Congressional advocacy to ensure sound and lasting government support and has a land protection program to acquire the last 10% of the trail still held by private landowners. With the goal to have the entire trail adopted by local groups, the PCTA runs a nationally recognized training program for volunteers called, Trail Skills College. Of these important points of focus, the PCTA emphasizes creating awareness for responsible trail use. Through providing extensive online user information to PCT hikers and horseback riders, educating users about Leave No Trace and wilderness safety guidelines, and maintaining a “hotline” for updates about trail conditions, the Pacific Crest Trail Association aids in cultivating a better trail experience for all. The PCTA is constantly working to ensure the experience of the trail is safe and immersive for every single person who steps into the deep, pristine forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Farm to Feet is a proud supporter of the PCTA and their mission to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail as a world-class experience for hikers and equestrians, and for all the values provided by wild and scenic lands.
From rugged desert terrain in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico to the expansive canyons of the Big Sky Country, the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is considered “the backbone of the United States,” says Andrea Kurth, Marketing, Communications and Community Outreach Specialist for the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC). As the primary nonprofit organization partnering with the US Forest Service to conserve the Trail, the Coalition has been working to complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail since their founding in 2012.
Through field programs, trail information, community outreach, and trail completion and corridor protection, the CDTC is devoted to providing “access to scenic and wild places to create a diverse and sustainable trail community that is able to experience the CDT as a resource for public and private growth,” explains Kurth. In the organization’s community outreach efforts, which are a major focus area for the Coalition, the CDTC’s mission is to cultivate more opportunities for groups, especially those with limited access, to connect with the trail, with the eventual goal that more people will become stewards of the trail. One specific way the CDTC engages the public is through working with CDT gateway communities and elected representatives to organize community hikes, and to spread the word more widely about the recreational opportunities of the trail. CDTC's field programs also engage diverse groups in trail building and maintenance projects along the CDT.
Our mission is to preserve wild places for everyone to experience recreation, rest, and enjoyment in nature, which is why we are grateful to be able to support the work of organizations such as the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. In partnering with the CDTC, we created The Grays Peak, a pair modeled after our most popular technical trail sock, the Damascus, with the durability for all outdoor adventurers.
Farm to Feet is a proud supporter of the CDTC and their mission to complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide Trail, which stretches from Canada to Mexico.e and sales funnel builder exclusively for Shopify stores.
A rock climber in Linville Gorge, North Carolina. This area has been protected through the help of The Conservation Alliance grantee, Outdoor Alliance.
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