Storm Creek’s Q3 2023 Impact Report
We love seeing the impact our company makes on the care of the natural world, care of our communities and care of people.
We keep track of this with as many solid numbers as we can collect every business quarter. Here are ways that we—and you, through your Storm Creek purchases—bring positive impact all around us.
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Bottles Recycled
We’re proud of the impact we’ve made by the number of plastic bottles recycled over our company’s history—more than 28 million so far.
In 2023 Quarter 3 alone, we upcycled over 2.5 million plastic bottles in our garments. In addition, using recycled bottles in our garments means 79% fewer carbon emissions overall, versus using virgin polyester instead.
While that’s a tiny dent in the total number of plastic bottles Americans buy every year (50 billion of them!), it’s still a remarkable feat. We can all do our part to see more of that plastic get recycled and reused rather than tossed in the trash.
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Sustainable Fibers
We’ve been able to gradually increase the percentage of sustainable fibers we use in our apparel every year. In 2023, 75% of the total fibers used in our garments have been sustainable.
The majority of those sustainable fibers come from recycled plastic bottles—the ones referenced in the previous section. The bottle are processed through our bottle to better cycle and eventually into recycled polyester yarns we use in our fabrics.
Another source of sustainable fiber we use is bamboo—a fast-growing and versatile member of the grass family. Bamboo is used in numerous applications, including clothing, with excellent results.
These sustainable fibers offer breathability, wicking properties, and a high degree of stretch that are ideal for our performance wear.
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Carbon Offset
The practice of “carbon offset” can be vague and confusing. While it’s most important to focus on numbers 1 and 2 on this list first (“reduce, reuse, and recycle), carbon offset is another way we as a company can help protect the environment.
We do this by “investing in projects that either remove carbon from the atmosphere or avoid emitting it in the first place. Many organizations buy carbon credits to fund offset projects…” (GreenBiz)
We partner with UPS on their carbon neutral and Carbon Offset programs. In Q3 we mitigated nearly 9 metric tons of carbon.
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Giving Goals
Storm Creek’s charitable giving goal is $5 million by the end of 2030. That’s a big number for a small company like ours! Here are ways we have given and will continue to give to reach this goal:
1% for the Planet
Our giving to this organization directly supports environmental non-profits like National Parks Foundation. We’ve awarded over $67,000 in cash and in-kind donations since 2019. Our 2023 giving total will be the highest thus far.
Minnesota Keystone Program
Minnesota Keystone Program promotes corporate giving through its members like us who donate at least 2% of their pre-tax earnings. We’re proud to be one of the few members who give at the 5% level. Only 210 companies in MN are members of this giveback program, and less than half give at Storm Creek’s 5%+.
Overall Giving
Since we initiated our $5 million giving goal in 2020, total donations have exceeded $1.3 million. These have included:
- Percentage of profits from sales of charity-branded apparel
- Product donations like winter outerwear for those in need
- Proceeds from our annual Warehouse Sale that raise thousands of dollars for giving
- “Wear for Better” Campaign that donated apparel to front-line workers during the Covid-19 pandemic
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Zero Restricted Chemicals
We use no product or chemical in Storm Creek apparel that can be considered a health concern to people. Our garments are non-toxic and safe to wear. This also includes our packaging.
The mills we work with are Bluesign® or Oeko-Tek® certified ensuring a focus on sustainability practices, water conservation and eco-safe chemicals. The factories we work with are certified by WRAP (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production) and BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative).
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Plastic Bag Recycling
We understand it’s difficult to deal with plastic bags. They can’t be put in curbside recycling containers, but need to be brought to a dedicated recycling plant with the machines to process them.
So in February 2023, we began to collect and properly recycle plastic bags from our own products’ packaging, as well as single use bags from staff and customers. In just the first nine months we’ve recycled over 800 pounds of these plastics.
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Company Bevi Station
One of our big goals is to keep single-use plastics out of our oceans and landfills. One of the best ways to do that is to simply use less of them.
To reduce our impact, we installed refillable water stations throughout our headquarters, as well as a Bevi station in our breakroom. Bevi offers our staff several choices of water and carbonated water using their own glass or water bottle instead of getting it in a prepackaged plastic bottle.
We’ve saved over 8,500 plastic bottles since its installation in February 2023.
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Key Events
Two key events we want to highlight from Q3 are:
Humanitarian of the Year 2023
Storm Creek Co-Owner and CEO Teresa Fudenberg received the “Bess Cohn Humanitarian of the Year” award at this year’s ASI Show in Chicago. The award celebrates those who exhibit unwavering commitment to charitable causes and volunteerism.
Read more about the award here.
Twin Cities in Motion Marathon Weekend
The Twin Cities Marathon is one of the biggest running events in Minnesota. Storm Creek was a second-tier sponsor for the 2023 event. We were also the presenting sponsor for the Loony and Ultra Loony Challenge. We provided vests for nearly 600 runners who registered for one of the Loony Challenges. That means they run both the 5K and 10K on the first day, followed by the 10-mile race the next day (Loony Challenge), and the 5K and 10K on the first day, followed by the marathon race the next day (Ultra Loony).
Every Storm Creek garment you buy means we can continue to work together to impact our world for good! Thank you for partnering with us
