HOKA and Cotopaxi Collaborate on Colorful Gear for Good
Two new eye-catching pieces of gear from HOKA ONE ONE and Cotopaxi dropped this week. They're pretty cool on their own, but the mission behind them makes them even better.
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New this week, Hoka One One and Cotopaxi have officially teamed up on some new gear, and rest assured, these pieces will draw eyeballs on the trail. The products themselves—sold online and at REI—are pretty cool, but it’s the intentionality and do-good spirit behind the initiative that we believe really deserves a high five.
The release features bold new colorways for one of Hoka’s signature trail shoes, the Torrent 2, and its Batac 16L Del Día backpack. To promote the collaboration, the theme of Cotopaxi’s signature Questival event for 2021 (being held virtually this year on April 23) is “Chase the Bright Side”—a call to action “embodying both brands’ desires to make the world a better place.” Proceeds from that event will be used to fund a grant supporting the nonprofit Big City Mountaineers.
But perhaps the coolest part of the release is the story behind the production of the new products. To spread the word about the way this gear came to life, Hoka and Cotopaxi have teamed up with queer environmentalist and photographer Pattie Gonia.
“I am excited to pursue collaborations that are responsibly made, that allow for self expression on the trail, and among brands that have social and environmental ethics in mind,” Pattie Gonia told OBJ this week. “We love getting to highlight the incredible work of the queer designers involved in this collaboration as well as the all-women teams from Hoka, Cotopaxi, and REI that brought this to life. I especially love that the give back was to Big City Mountaineers, an org that has been around forever getting diverse youth into the outdoors, often for the first time.”
“Partnering with a like-minded brand in Cotopaxi helps us empower more people to explore their world and, hopefully, dedicate themselves to changing it for the better,” said Gretchen Weimer, vice president of product at Hoka One One. “We are also humbled and honored that this partnership can help support the work of Big City Mountaineers, whose mission empowers potentially life-changing access to the outdoors for youth across the United States.”