CONSERVATION — Backpacker magazine and SNEWS named Spokane-based Mountain Gear the Sustainable Retailer of the Year at the recent 2012 Winter Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City.

The annual award honors outdoor retailers that stand out as leaders for the industry and the communities they serve.

 “This award recognizes the efforts of our entire team to be a sustainable organization and to continually learn and try new ways to reduce our footprint,” said Paul Fish, company president.

The S-R has reported for years on Mountain Gear's environmental activities. Among the stories:

• Collecting and recycling used outdoor gear.
• Orgainizing with businesses business involved with community and environmental sustainability.
• Providing bicycles at a discount for employees.
• Company recognized for going green at new location.

The award givers at the recent Outdoor Retailer show also were impressed with Mountain Gear’s corporate headquarters (see map), an old warehouse renovated with skylights, energy management systems and drought-tolerant landscaping irrigated with collected rainwater.

Recycled materials, low-flow plumbing, waterless urinals and energy-efficient lighting were added. Incentives for employees to commute efficiently or bike to work top it all off.

Spokane's Mountain Gear has been named the Sustainable Retailer of the year at the 2012 Winter Outdoor Retailer Show, held in Salt Lake.

The award honors outdoor retailers who embody solid entrepreneurship and work on behalf of the community.

“This award honors exemplary retailers and sets a bar for all other retailers to achieve, with the ultimate goal of establishing a standard for specialty retail excellence nationwide,” SNEWS President Michael Hodgson said.

Mountain Gear President Paul Fish took the challenge of a reduced footprint when he decided to relocate the corporate offices and distribution center to a new building, a former manufacturing facility.

For the third year in a row, Spokane outdoor retailer Mountain Gear has won a Silver Award for being a bike-friendly business by the League of American Bicyclists.

Staring this week, Spokane outdoor retailer Mountain Gear will start accepting used items — footwear, jackets, pants, shirts, socks, tents, harnesses, backpacks and other cloth-based items — and will donate them to a textile recycling facility. Items do not have to be outdoor equipment only.

The intent of the program is to extend the life of usable outdoor items and materials. A company release said usable products will be reused through secondhand markets; unusable items will be recycled into new materials and fibers.  The north Spokane shop, at 2002 N. Division, will also direct customers with items needing repair to to local repair services.

About 10 percent of all textiles are reused or recycled, and Mountain Gear President Paul Fish said his company would like to raise that rate in the Spokane area.

Fish emphasized this program is meant to supplement existing recycling efforts and donations by collecting items that have reached the end of their useful life.