Recently I was in downtown Salt Lake and came across two people begging for money, clothing, anything. This time I looked closely, without the “go find a job” attitude that I normally carry. These were people who were looking for jobs. The signs were heartfelt, and I thought, authentic. I believed they would drop everything and follow me if I offered them a job. 

And then I started thinking about all of the excess inventory that the outdoor recreational industry dumps every year. Jackets, socks, pants, long underwear. Inventory that manufacturers try to hide from retailers by putting the stuff in the backchannels and then the product sells for dirt cheap. Or retailers try to hide excess inventory from the manufacturers by going online under another banner and selling stuff at a steep discount. (More about that in a post coming up.) 

Is there a better way?

I think so. Here’s an idea. 

Instead of dumping inventory into these back channels, take it and offer it to the out-of-work/homeless folks in ten major cities. It comes with a price tag. To receive the clothing package each person-in-need must sign-up for the brand’s environmental or humanitarian cause in that city.

Brand volunteers go out into a city and find the real people who want to work and contribute. These people get assigned to a project and are told where and when to show up. River clean-ups, parks, beach clean-ups…there are a millions projects out there. 

The projects last for a weekend. On Saturday and Sunday…breakfast, lunch, and a dinner will be served to the homeless at the project locations. At the end of that weekend the volunteers get a great clothing package from the outdoor manufacturer. 

Local retailers would volunteer and offer other types of support… and benefit by having their establishments featured in the local press. 

Can you imagine the public relations benefits of such a program? Every local television station would go “live” from a volunteer location. Radio and print would be all over it. And in ten cities. Get your PR folks to talk with the big guns…like The Today Show, GMA, etc. Would this appeal to them? Uhhhh, yea. A manufacturer giving back to ten cities and to the folks who need some help. Headline:  Manufacturer, Homeless, and Local Environmental Groups Combine To Make A Difference. 

And new media would take the story and run with it. Outdoor blogs. Green blogs. Political blogs. Big time. Bloggers would be wondering how else we can employ the unemployed for the benefit of all? Twitter would be on fire with the brand volunteers, press, bloggers, etc.  who witnessed these events. 

So, instead of dumping product, a manufacturer is putting that clothing to good use. And leveraging it by getting more publicity then that manufacturer has gotten in the last three years-combined.

Too expensive? How expensive is it to find a home for all excess inventory that disappears without profit, with no benefit to the company, and all the while contributing to price erosion?

So find a home for that excess inventory in a place of gratitude, work, and good will. Who knows, the company might change lives, and those are follow-up stories worth gold. 

Outdoor recreation has soul. I’ve seen it. Show more, and the benefits to the company will come in all forms.

Homeless person to a brand representative:  ”Thank you for the long underwear. I’d like to help further with the clean-up. Will you be doing this again?”