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Articles by Jiakai Chang
The dynamic features of long-term habituation of negative emotions: evidence from eye-tracking and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis research
Abstract Objectives: Negative emotional habituation (NEH) plays a crucial role in individuals’ survival and adaptation. However, systematic research on long-term negative emotional habituation remains limited. This study aimed to explore the dynamics of the habituation process during prolonged repeated exposure to negative stimuli, from the perspectives of eye-tracking and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responses.
By the numbers: The outdoor industry's plastic problem
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. It’s no secret that our industry has a polybag problem. While many brands are looking at alternatives to curb the glaring plastic waste—and some, like prAna and NEMO, have already changed their packaging practices—progress is slow. Plus, while technically recyclable, polybags are neither accepted curbside nor widely taken at recycling centers.
Tecnica’s 'Recycle Your Boots' program is ideal circular commerce
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Recycle Your Boots, the latest sustainability initiative from boot manufacturer Tecnica, has a simple goal: to collect old ski boots, disassemble them, and recycle them into production-ready secondary materials.
Chopwood Mercantile, beloved Crested Butte store, is under new ownership
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Strangely enough, Meredith Diers, the new owner of Chopwood Mercantile in Crested Butte, Colo., found out the storied retailer was for sale through us. After seeing a piece we published this year about the mountain-town shop going up for sale, she immediately fell in love. “It was one of those times in life where the world stops as you read it,” Diers told us this week.
KEEN adds 300K opportunities to new customer loyalty program that rewards good deeds
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Global footwear brand KEEN this week announced a partnership with Points of Light (POL), an international community-service organization that connects people with 70,000 nonprofits, schools, and local agencies around the world for volunteer work. Starting this month, KEEN is incorporating POS’s database of over 300,000 community service opportunities into its KEEN Corps loyalty program.
ISPO Munich and OutDoor by ISPO rescheduled
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Messe München announced on Monday that the semiannual ISPO trade shows will permanently move to different dates. ISPO Munich will now kick off the winter season from Nov. 28 to 30, 2022, while OutDoor by ISPO will take place from June 12 to 14, 2022. This decision comes mainly due to global supply chain issues causing industry-wide changes in order cycles, according to a press release from the trade show’s organizers.
Brunton sold to Wyoming locals
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. A Wyoming-based pair of inventors and former educators has acquired Brunton, one of the state’s oldest brands. The 127-year-old compass maker, which had most recently been a subsidiary of Sweden-based Fenix, yesterday announced the change in ownership. The new owners, Lauren and David Heerschap of Lander, Wyo., had been educators in geoscience before becoming employees at Brunton in 2014.
This consulting service has one goal: helping your business become more sustainable
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. A small, women-led consulting service is making waves in sustainability across multiple industries. Planet+Purpose Solutions (PPS), a Charleston, S.C.-based consultancy led by Lia Colabello, works directly with brands to help them reduce their plastic waste. Colabello, PPS’s managing principal, first started the consultancy as Plastic Pollution Solutions at the end of 2016.
Outside Inc. acquires two new media brands
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Outside Inc. (OBJ’s parent company) today announced its acquisition of two new Colorado media companies, ROAM Media and Inkwell Media, both based in Boulder. ROAM Media, founded in 2017, provides its members with a catalog of online classes taught by world-renowned climbers, skiers, snowboarders, surfers, filmmakers, photographers, and mind and body experts.
REI launches new program to invest in BIPOC-owned outdoor startups
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Seattle-based retailer REI announced last week the launch of a new program called Path Ahead Ventures, which seeks to help BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) entrepreneurs in the outdoor industry. Through the new initiative, the company will invest $30 million in two programs to help selected startups grow. The first part of the program, called Embark, targets entrepreneurs with early-stage ideas.
This new tool helps creatives make outdoor content more responsibly
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Recreate Responsibly Coalition, an activist group made up of more than 1,600 businesses, agencies, and nonprofits, today announced the launch of its #CreateResponsibly initiative, which asks media creators and artists to increase their awareness of responsible outdoor habits in order to produce content with less harm to the environment.
Stio becomes latest brand to sell used gear at discount
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Stio last week announced the launch of its new circular commerce program, Second Turn. The Jackson Hole, Wyo.-based outdoor apparel company is enabling customers to trade in gently-used Stio products to be cleaned, repaired, and resold at a discounted price. People who return an item will also receive up to 25 percent of the item’s original retail value.
Granite Gear’s ‘Hot Minute’ is like late-night TV for the outdoor industry
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. When Rob Coughlin, co-owner and general manager of Granite Gear, describes his role in his company’s new Instagram Live show called “Hot Minute,” he has a simple way of summing up his contribution. “I’m like the John Oliver of the outdoor industry, except he’s smart and funny,” Coughlin likes to say.
Gnarly Nutrition ditches plastic packaging in favor of steel
Like many of life’s bold ideas, it started with a beer. The team at Gnarly Nutrition—a sports nutrition company based in Salt Lake City—had been discussing ways to adopt sustainable packaging for years. But it wasn’t until Shannon O’Grady, the company’s chief procurement officer, cracked open a can of beer with a peel-off lid in April 2019 that inspiration finally struck.
A new advisory service connects brands to plus-size customers
Author, influencer, and public speaker Kara Richardson Whitely today announced the launch of her new advisory service for outdoor brands.
How a boutique mitten brand got on REI shelves in just 5 years
Traditionally, a person who wants to start a gear company has to take the traditional track through design or business school and then serving time working for other companies, until he or she brave enough to branch out. Susan Clayton’s entrepreneurship journey was different. In just five years, her brand called WhitePaws RunMitts, which makes mittens for runners, has managed to land placements in some of the biggest running magazines in the world.
Smartwool produces new sock designed by 10th grade contest winner
Colorado-based brand Smartwool and nonprofit Big City Mountaineers (BCM) today announced their partnership for this year’s “Socktober” campaign, an annual charity initiative created by Smartwool. As part of the effort—which runs from October 22 to 28—Smartwool will donate a portion of its sales to advocacy groups working to preserve the outdoors and build community around outdoor recreation.
Snow Peak's annual branded retreat engages fans creatively and authentically
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. Driving into the verdant box canyon in Oregon’s Tygh Valley, just a couple hours east of Portland, we found ourselves in a massive clearing, filled with tents, vans, firepits, and people. Lots of people. This year’s Snow Peak Way, a weekend retreat from Japanese outdoor brand Snow Peak, brought together almost 150 consumers, Snow Peak staff, and their families (including a delightful abundance of corgis).
Fall is here. Time to clean out your gear closet-sustainably.
Every year, outdoor gear gets better. And if there’s one thing we all know, it’s that it’s hard to resist new toys. One unfortunate side effect of continual product improvement, however, is that old gear tends to pile up in our closets, and then eventually gets tossed in the trash, even if it only needs minor repairs—or worse, is simply out of style. That’s where the “Gear Up, Give Back” program from Cairn (an Outside-owned company) comes in.
Evo acquires lodge in British Columbia to expand hospitality business
Outdoor retailer Evo this week announced it has acquired the Journeyman Lodge in Whistler to expand the presence of its hospitality business in British Columbia. Hand-built by ski enthusiasts in the 1990s, the 5,000-square-foot lodge accommodates up to 24 guests and sits in the middle of the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, just 90 minutes north of Vancouver.
YETI billboard in Texas-apparently poking fun at Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk-goes viral
“See space. Save billions.” Austin, Texas-based YETI Coolers last week unveiled a billboard over its flagship store in Austin emblazoned with those words, set against a backdrop of mountains and starry skies. Go outside. That’s the message behind YETI’s new billboard sending rockets full of shade at billionaire Elon Musk. Have you seen the billboard yet?
The Conservation Alliance announces new grant program for underrepresented communities
Related x1071.com 4 Madison businesses receiving grants through new Brewers Community Foundation program MILWAUKEE — Associated Bank and the Brewers Community Foundation announced a $100,000 program Wednesday to support minority, women and veteran owned businesses through the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation. According to a news release, 18 diverse small businesses around the state will receive a $5,000 grant to support their needs...
The Conservation Alliance announces new grant program for underrepresented communities
The Conservation Alliance today opened applications for its inaugural Confluence Program, which aims to provide grants to historically marginalized people working in conservation. In its announcement of the program, The Conservation Alliance noted its lack of member organizations who represent these groups.
Amer Sports proposes $30 million warehouse upgrade in Utah
Finland-based Amer Sports, which owns outdoor brands Salomon, Arc’teryx, and Atomic, proposed last week a $30 million upgrade to its warehouse and distribution center on 961 W. 2nd St in the Business Depot Ogden, as part of an expansion plan that could create up to 155 jobs over 10 years. The upgrade would take the form of interior renovations and the installation of new fixtures and equipment. www.outsidebusinessjournal.com
Amer Sports proposes $30 million warehouse upgrade in Utah
Finland-based Amer Sports, which owns outdoor brands Salomon, Arc’teryx, and Atomic, proposed last week a $30 million upgrade to its warehouse and distribution center on 961 W. 2nd St in the Business Depot Ogden, as part of an expansion plan that could create up to 155 jobs over 10 years. The upgrade would take the form of interior renovations and the installation of new fixtures and equipment.
29 outdoor companies send letter of support for climate provisions to Congress
29 members of Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) yesterday sent a letter to Congress in support of significant climate provisions in the proposed budget reconciliation legislation. “The reconciliation bill being debated offers a historic chance to pass legislation significant enough to tackle these climate issues head on and make progress on many of the policies key to the outdoor industry’s continued success,” the letter states.
REI appoints chief diversity and social impact officer
REI Co-op has created a new C-level position to next level its racial equity, diversity and inclusion efforts at an enterprise level by promoting Wilma Wallace to build and lead a new Diversity and Social Impact Office. Wallace joined REI in 2017. She was previously the co-op’s general counsel and corporate secretary, while also working outside of REI on a variety of nonprofit boards for organizations focused on equity and human rights, including Camber Outdoors and Landesa.
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