Last week, I attended the Footprints camp in Northern Vermont with 23 people who love to get out and run on the trails and who want to take climate action in their own communities. I have so much to say about this experience at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and about the incredible people that I met that my head is spinning. So instead of trying to tackle it, I want to highlight one small piece of the week that I can’t stop thinking about.
I spend a LOT of time thinking about clothing, clothing waste, clothing production, and race swag. Oh, the race swag! In fact, I went to Footprints because I wanted to be in a place where I could think about these issues non-stop! And as I think about all of these issues non-stop, I keep thinking about alternative systems. How else can we produce, consume, and reuse clothing? And what can we do to stop the race swag?!
Race expos are all about consumption (afterall, sponsors want business) and runners usually expect a free t-shirt with any race they run. But there is another way, and I love it when I find examples of the people and organizations that are doing it differently. Susan Dunklee at Craftsbury is one of those people.
Susan is, among many other things, a race director. When Craftsbury puts on races, she is running the show, and this past weekend, Craftsbury and Footprints put on a 5 and 10 mile trail race. The low-tech and low-frills race was exactly what I believe a race experience should be. I applaud a lot of the efforts that the team took to limit the environmental impact of this race. At the aid station, the team used reusable cups that they collected in bins and brought back to the cafeteria for cleaning. At the end of the race, they collected our bibs so they could be reused for future races and events. The awards included an ax for 1st place and consumable food for 2nd and 3rd instead of medals and trophies. But, the shining moment for me was the SWAG!
When we picked up our race bibs, we were told that if we wanted to (making for an easy opt out), we could grab a pair of socks in place of a t-shirt. But before grabbing the socks, runners were asked to sign the SWAG (Swear to Wear AGain and AGain) Pledge. The pledge states:
“I swear to wear these socks again and again and to enjoy them for their full lifespan. I intend to honor and respect the cost of making them: their carbon, labor, material, water, and disposal footprint.”
This may not seem like a huge deal, especially for a race of approximately 75 people, but to me it’s all about the mindset shift. My focus in general and at Footprints more specifically, is on how to change mindset away from a culture of overconsumption and the linear process of raw materials → produce → sell → use → landfill to a model that is more focused on experiences, circularity, and finding ways to appreciate and celebrate the things we have. With this SWAG Pledge, racers first of all were given an option. The socks were not given to everyone – only to those who truly wanted them. And in that decision making process, racers were asked to think about the impact of the socks and their intentions with respect to use of the socks. This model is the opposite of mindless consumption and is representative of the mindset shift that I spend my days advocating for. I’m so thankful to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center for leading the way with their races and for showing us that we can do things differently.
The Green Ostrich 