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Equipos Cotopaxi is a retailer in Ecuador. Cotopaxi is a product brand in the United States. This is pretty common across the world to have different companies, doing different things, in different countries, with similar names. ;) Love their thinking though!
Thanks for the feedback, micro_cam. We just relaunched our site today and simultaneously launched our apparel today. We had to rush to get everything live, so many of your requests are coming soon. Thanks for your patience! Keep in mind that we're only 4 months old. We certainly have plenty of work to do.
Regarding the product feedback, our designers are award-winning gear and apparel designers who previously worked at Black Diamond, Gregory, Marmot, Dakine, Columbia and Nike. We used data to determine which products to launch with - more is coming soon, so keep an eye out for the 30-55 liter packs.
Regarding your feedback about sticking to core outdoor products, we aren't looking to be like everyone else. I'd be happy to discuss in person or offline, and I think you'd understand why we're going with this approach. I've spent 10 years as an entrepreneur, building e-commerce businesses and brands. We have plenty to learn, and we'll certainly make some mistakes, but I feel pretty confident in our brand positioning, line logic and product strategy. Loved the feedback though. I'm going to share it with our team. Really appreciate you taking the time to give it to us!
Absolutely. We had an AP photo journalist visit us on trips to our factories. Our pack factory has over 3,000 people who have worked there for over 10 years (the factory only had about 4-5k employees 10 years ago), so retention is insanely high. They pay livable wages, have a healthy culture (volleyball and basketball clubs, etc). We care deeply about where and how we source our products. We're working with an organization that helps brands certify responsible sourcing. Keep in mind that we're only 4.5 months old. We have a lot of work to do still, but we'll get there! Thanks for your feedback. We'll work on providing more details shortly!
bikamonki, que tal? Thanks for your feedback. I'm the founder and while I'm American, I moved to Latin America when I was four. I spent my entire childhood and early teenage years in the region, including Ecuador. I've also spent six years of my adult life in Latin America as well. I chose Cotopaxi because I lived in Quito and would often go camping at Cotopaxi with my dad. Additionally, I went to school at Academia Cotopaxi. The name has always had special meaning to me. Additionally, I saw llamas for the first time when I was at Cotopaxi. I've since lived in Peru and Bolivia and have seen thousands of llamas in the wild. I feel the llama is a perfect representation of our brand: rugged, but kind. ¡Viva Ecuador!
ronbo, we work hard to find a measurable way to show our impact and I think you're right in pointing out that this isn't great. The way we calculated this was by dividing the entire cost of the project by the number of bricks needed to rebuild the school. The money we donate from each pack buys significantly more than 2 bricks, obviously, but this also includes concrete, roofing materials, labor, architectural plans, rebar, etc. We'll work on finding a better way of communicating this. We loved the idea of showing the impact by the number of bricks needed, but I think it falls short of showing the actual impact. Thanks for the feedback - very helpful!
podviaznikov - This is Davis Smith, the founder of Cotopaxi. I also love the name! I'm not from Ecuador, but I moved to Latin America when I was 4 years old and spent part of my childhood and teenage years in Ecuador. I used to go camping with my dad at the base of Cotopaxi, so it has always had special meaning to me. I thought it was the perfect name for a socially minded outdoor brand. Have you been to Ecuador?