Arc'teryx Makes 'Capes' for Homeless
December 7, 2011, 8:54 am / Categories: Outerwear, Apparel
For the third year, Vancouver-based Arc’teryx Equipment Inc. will give capes made of waterproof Gore-Tex fabric to the city’s homeless. Called the Birds Nest Project, the annual charity leans on end-of-roll fabric remnants and Arc’teryx employees who volunteer their time to design and sew the capes in-house at the company’s North Vancouver factory.
About 70 Arc’teryx employee volunteers will run the project this year, which includes professional sewers who regularly work on high-end outerwear. The company hopes to distribute more than 700 windproof, waterproof capes to people in need via area homeless organizations.
Essentially an old-school rain poncho design, the Birds Nest capes provide a waterproof covering and a hood. They fit loose and have minimal adjustments. Thanks to the Gore-Tex fabric the capes should be breathable, comfortable, wind-proof and waterproof when the city’s cold winter rains begin to pour.
Cape distribution in Vancouver begins this month. We applaud Arc’teryx for its grass-roots effort and the tangible benefits the capes will have on people in the community in need of some help and basic protection this winter from the elements above.
—Stephen Regenold is founder and editor of www.gearjunkie.com.
One way to help fund this kind of activity would be to do a buy one, give one deal.
Where a consumer could buy(to use or even give away) and the company can use the funds to produce and give more away.
It’s great to see companies that cater to outdoor enthusiast, helping people that actually live outdoors.
just a win win situation….fantastic idea…more companies should give back to the community… plus this kind of work, comes from the heart, (there time)….keep up the good work and you have raised the bar for other companies…thanks guys and gals!!!plus they are a sweet design…
A great idea. Is it possible to purchase these to distribute to homeless in Victoria? I see many street people begging for money, standing in the rain covered in plastic bags to help keep them warm and dry. They rip easily and I would be interesting in distributing what you could, even if I must pay for shipping, costs etc. It is worth asking for this because they require our support and generosity.
I would like to congratulate you for this great idea.
I think this is a very great initiative from Arcterix and I hope it will inspire other great canadian business to take similar initiative.
I would like to know if you intend to scale the project to other city in Canada. I would personally be interested into expanding your idea to Montreal and help distribute with the help of Mountain Equipment Coop if you would like.
Let me know if I can be of any help at ocontant at dcdivision dot net
Thank you and I wish you the best success for 2013.
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this is an awesome project. nice work guys!