The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019 - 30

Ideas
B I G

A C T I O N

Regenerative organic
agriculture sequesters
carbon in the soil.

The Good Earth
Elizabeth Whitlow wants outdoor brands to
sign up for a certification that can help fight
climate change and create better working
conditions. By Doug Schnitzspahn
the Regenerative Organic Alliance
(ROA), Elizabeth Whitlow is on
a mission to make it easier for
consumers to buy food and apparel
that has been grown according
to more sustainable regenerative
organic agriculture, a practice
that can help slow climate change.
Outdoor brands including Patagonia and Dr. Bronner's have gotten
behind the effort, along with the
Rodale Institute, which also serves
on ROA's board. Through Regenerative Organic Certification, the
group has made it easier for outdoor brands to get on board and
convey this important message
to consumers. Whitlow, who will
be speaking at the Show, took the
time to explain how it works and
why it's so important.
What is Regenerative Organic
Certification?

Regenerative Organic Certification
is an all-encompassing certification that includes three pillars: animal welfare, soil health, and social
fairness. It's a very high-bar, holistic standard that includes many
different concerns that consumers
share. Having the one certification
makes it easier for consumers, so
that they don't always have to shop
for different labels.
What makes it "regenerative"?

Regenerative has become quite the
buzzword. You hear it in impact

investment, and you hear it in economics. When we talk about it in
relation to agriculture, it refers to
a system that regenerates the soil.
In conventional, chemical farming
they use NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) all the time, then
add in fertilizer products that are
mined and sourced from far away.
Regenerative practices are
different. They are about building
healthy soil and using compost
and natural methods-age-old
farming methods in some ways-
where you keep the soil covered so
that you don't have problems with
erosion, and you use things like
nitrogen-fixing crops. Any type
of legume fixes nitrogen, kind of
magically right out of the air and
down into the soil into these little
nodules that get built out on the
roots. So you don't have to purchase a fertilizer product that's
high in nitrogen.
Regenerative agriculture is one
of the most promising methods of
sequestering carbon and slowing
climate change. And it has many
other benefits, including healthier
food and healthier fibers for people
who may not want to be exposed to
the kind of chemicals and antibiotics and GMOs that are in a lot of
conventional foods and livestock
products.
Why should outdoor brands be
interested and how can they get
involved?

/ SUMMER MARKET 2019

First, they should just learn about
what our program is and look at it
through the lens of their own supply chains. Testing it out with some
aspect of the supply chain would
be really beneficial for a lot of companies-many are doing that right
now. They can also help to educate
consumers about the fact that
their clothes are grown. People

may not always make the connection that the fiber they're wearing
comes from the very earth that
they love. We're building an allies'
program right now and talking to
several different companies to help
support us in developing education
programs or helping offset the cost
of soil sampling that's required for
these producers.

AT THE SHOW

Want to learn more? Hear from Elizabeth Whitlow about Regenerative Organic Certification today at the panel "Let's Save Our
Home Planet, Together: A conversation about supply chains and
climate change." The panel will take place from 3 to 5:30 p.m. in
Meeting Room 201 at the Colorado Convention Center. The panel
will also include representatives from the Regenerative Organic
Alliance, the Apparel Impact Institute, Burton, Dr. Bronner's, Patagonia, and Patagonia Provisions.

CO U R T E SY R OA / PATAG O N I A

AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF

The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019

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