Canada Goose – A Local Hero Gives Back to Northern Communities

Since our beginnings in 2005, ethiquette has been following the developments at Canada Goose Inc., an extreme outerwear company that had bravely decided to go against the grain and to keep making its products locally when the overwhelming trend was to de-localize to cheap production sites overseas where worker conditions often take a back seat.

The success of this company, distributed in over 40 countries and named one of Canada’s fastest growing companies in 2006, blasted the accepted business wisdom that locally-produced goods could never compete with those made in places like China. As American Apparel had proved in the light cotton sector, a company can pay its workers decent wages, make a profit and grow its markets. Canada Goose makes the same case in the outerwear sector, where materials are more costly and the assembly is more complex.

We were pleased to learn recently that, beyond being a conscientious local employer, Canada Goose had decided to help improve conditions of those outside the company. The recent CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative launched by the brand is directed at residents of the Canadian Arctic, where the company’s jackets are widely used. Living with low incomes and skilled at making a lot with a little, northern sewers have traditionally made jackets and clothing for members of the community with any fabric that was close at hand. Seeing the need for good quality materials when visiting the Arctic, Canada Goose employees realized that their own excess fabrics, buttons, zippers, Velcro and other accessories would be very valuable to the traditional northern sewers and their communities who could use them to make parkas and jackets with high-quality fabrications suited to their extreme climate. This initiative also reduces waste of materials at Canada Goose, which is concerned with the company’s overall sustainability record.

To distribute these materials to these remote populations, Canada Goose partnered with First Air, an airline company that flies to Arctic destinations and The North West Company, a leading retailer in the north. In all, three distribution points, named “Canada Goose Resource Centres”, are being established at Nunavut, at Northern in Pond Inlet on and at Northmart in Iqaluit.

For more information on Canada Goose, visit www.canada-goose.com and our evaluation of the company’s products on ethiquette.ca here and their business practices on ethipedia.net here.

Thanks to Tom Liacas from ethiquette.ca for sharing this story with us.