Gearing Up : New Stories for Old Outdoor Gear
by Rachel Gross
In 1972, an anxious bunch of outdoorspeople arrived at a Southern California parking lot at 6 a.m. hoping to spend the day buying and selling used outdoor gear. They shared coffee in the early morning hours as they waited. The Mother’s Day swap meets organized by outdoor retailer Adventure16 quickly became annual affairs. As news of the bounty of cheap goods spread over the years, potential customers began to arrive even earlier to ensure access to the best gear, even camping out the night before, flanked by other enthusiasts eager to geek out over gear together.
A 1978 Adventure 16 swap meet in San Diego. Photo courtesy Adventure 16
The A16 swap meet was part of a larger trend. Starting in the 1970s, REI (Recreational Equipment, Incorporated, then known as the Co-op) also hosted annual owners’ sales. REI’s annual owners’ sale and Adventure16’s Mother’s Day swap meets were more than just shopping events and price reductions. The participants made the sale a kind of celebration and communal gathering. Re-use, then, was not just about practicality or even price. The swap meets helped participants craft their identities as outdoorspeople. Customers picked through the used goods to find treasures and embraced the inevitable grubbiness of the offerings. Being able to discern a high-quality product and connect with a fellow gear owner conferred a certain authenticity.
Re-use culture within the outdoor world has grown. Independent gear repair companies offer their expertise to outdoorspeople. Used equipment and clothing shops offer gear at lower prices. And perhaps most importantly, in the last decade a number of prominent outdoor brands have launched repair, resell, and upcycled gear programs. These companies, including The North Face, Patagonia, and REI, are taking cues from their customers, who have participated in this process for decades, scaling it up to make used gear or gear repair accessible to customers without sewing expertise or connections.
As REI’s used gear site, Re/Supply, explains: the company “inspects gently used items that have been returned and selects the best” for sale online. For the harried consumer, this is a benefit, because there is no haggling or prolonged discussion, just a “good deal” that also helps “lessen the production of new stuff.” The search for used gear online, however, does not match the energy of an in-person swap meet of the 1970s. Without face-to-face interaction, there are no stories to swap. And while REI might point out that “buying used instead of new typically avoids carbon emissions of 50% or more,” a harried parent might be more frustrated that the $45 used kids boots aren’t available in a size 10 than proud of their contribution to the higher environmental cause.
Despite these limitations, the outdoor gear and clothing industry is leading in this area because they have a consumer base eager to apply their environmental values to their outdoor purchasing habits. And offerings such as REI’s Re/Supply and Patagonia’s WornWear project, now in its second decade, promise to scale up repair and reuse in a way that the early-morning gatherings in the A16 parking never could. Even the gear stories exist, if you know how to look. And the gatherings are back too. This year Adventure 16 started hosting a swap again, maybe because people are looking for ways to connect as much as they’re looking for used gear.
A scene from A16’s 2024 gear exchange last weekend. Photo courtesy Adventure 16
Rachel S. Gross is a historian of the outdoor industry and author of Shopping All the Way to the Woods: How the Outdoor Industry Sold Nature to America (Yale University Press, 2024). She is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Colorado Denver where she teaches U.S. environmental, business, and public history.
Upcoming Reuse Events + Opportunities
May 22 - 24 : Circularity 24 Conference
The annual circular economy conference hosted by the GreenBiz Group is happening now in Chicago. If you’re there we can’t wait to hear what you learned. If you didn’t make it to Chicago, you can stream the keynote for free at the link below. And make a plan to attend next year!
June 5 : EPA SBIR Webinar
SBIR stands for Small Business Innovation Research and through the program (started 40 years ago) the EPA ‘funds small businesses to develop and commercialize innovative environmental technologies’. The Phase I award (up to $100k) solicitation is expected out in June with awardees being eligible for the Phase II ($400k) award. Learn more and register for the informational webinar at the link below.
October 16 : Phase II of the Re-X Prize
You don’t have to have applied for Phase I to submit for Phase II of the Re-X prize from the DOE. The second phase (awards of $150k) is open now. If you’re really into informational webinars they also have one you can watch.
The Reuse Campaign : Donate and See it First !
We are getting ready to launch our first annual Reuse Awareness Campaign and we couldn’t be more excited! Curious? Donate to the campaign and be first to see the images (each donor will receive a personalized Thank You postcard - set-up a monthly donation to receive all four!) We are also looking for partners to help amplify the campaign. We will also be attending events this summer to silkscreen the campaign logo onto people’s things. Stay tuned!
Reuse in the News
We were in the paper! Read about Greenlynx and Reuse Alliance in the Press Democrat.
A reporter digs up facts about carseat expiration dates.
How to buy used kids clothes online. Really just good tips for buying anything online.
We love news of investment in reuse from all corners of the globe.
The full creative power of humans was on display in Atacama Fashion Week.
Reuse to Amuse
If you can’t swap your used outdoor gear you can upcycle it. Who wants a bicycle wheel clock? We do.
20 ways to shop mindfully (spoiler: lots of them involve reuse!)
It’s shower bucket season! Time to thrift a water reuse pitcher.
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