Colorful outdoor gear with a built-in give-back model: 1% of revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation.

Cotopaxi

venture active confidence: Medium status: Draft updated 2026-07-14

Type: venture
Status: Draft
Confidence: Medium
Tier: C
Builder-tier: B
Activity-signal: 2026-04-24 · https://sustonmagazine.com/cotopaxi-2025-impact-report-deadstock-poverty/
Activity-checked: 2026-08-14
Focus: outdoor gear, apparel, social enterprise, B Corp, philanthropy
Roles: manufacturing-operations, product-design, sales-business-development, marketing-communications
Stage: Established growth brand
Primary Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Utah Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Region: Salt Lake City
Map Location: Cotopaxi Salt Lake City store, 74 S Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Coordinates: 40.7677477, -111.8911694
Location Precision: exact
Location Source: https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/retail-store
Additional Map Location: Cotopaxi Fashion Place store, 6191 S State Street, Suite 1480, Murray, UT 84107 | 40.6364120, -111.8891549 | exact | https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/retail-store
Additional Map Location: Cotopaxi Park City store, 333 Main Street, Suite H, Park City, UT 84060 | 40.6422991, -111.4951653 | exact | https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/retail-store
Website: https://www.cotopaxi.com
Careers: https://cotopaxi.applytojob.com/
Updated: 2026-07-14
Needs-reviewed: 2026-07-14
Relates: cites Official Website: Cotopaxi · https://www.cotopaxi.com
Relates: cites B Lab Profile: Cotopaxi · https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/cotopaxi/

Summary

Cotopaxi is a Utah-based outdoor gear and apparel company founded in the 2013-2014 period and publicly framed around "Gear For Good." The impact case is strongest where outdoor consumers want gear that also funds poverty alleviation, education, and livelihoods work. Cotopaxi's official site says 1% of annual revenue goes to the Cotopaxi Foundation, a Utah-based private 501(c)(3).

Impact

The impact case is strongest where outdoor consumers want gear that also funds poverty alleviation, education, and livelihoods work. Cotopaxi's official site says 1% of annual revenue goes to the Cotopaxi Foundation, a Utah-based private 501(c)(3), and that customer donations are distributed to the foundation monthly.

B Lab lists Cotopaxi as a Certified B Corporation, certified since December 2015, with headquarters in Utah and an apparel / wholesale-retail industry classification. The company also says it is a member of 1% for the Planet.

The caution: public impact claims are mostly self-reported or certification-mediated. Cotopaxi is a credible example of a Utah mission-driven consumer brand, but cumulative donation totals and broad poverty-alleviation outcomes require foundation reports or independent corroboration.

What They Are Building

Cotopaxi builds and sells outdoor packs, bags, apparel, and travel gear. The official site highlights collections such as Del Dia, Allpa travel packs, and Coraza luggage, and its sustainability materials say the company uses repurposed, recycled, or third-party-certified materials across its products.

Beyond products, the company is building an impact-branded retail system: direct online commerce, retail and wholesale channels, annual impact reports, supplier and materials disclosures, warranty and repair messaging, and a foundation-backed grantmaking story. The "Guaranteed for Good" program advertises returns, exchanges, lifetime warranty, repairs, and trade-in paths for used gear.

What They Need Now

Retail staffing dominates ongoing hiring — store managers, supervisors, and sales associates across Utah (Murray, Park City) and other U.S. stores. Broader fit still includes product designers with outdoor and apparel experience, supply-chain and sustainability specialists, DTC marketing and community leaders, e-commerce operators, and nonprofit-partnership managers who can steward foundation grantmaking. Social-enterprise operators with B Corp or impact-measurement experience may also be relevant.

Who Could Help

Useful helpers include outdoor-industry advisors, sustainable apparel supply-chain consultants, DTC growth marketers, nonprofit grant strategists, and investors or mentors with experience in purpose-driven consumer brands. Utah's outdoor recreation cluster and university entrepreneurship programs may offer local talent and partnership paths.

Utah Context

Cotopaxi is commonly described as Salt Lake City-based, and B Lab lists its headquarters as Utah, United States. That places the company inside Utah's outdoor recreation and social entrepreneurship ecosystems rather than the state's narrower enterprise-software or deep-tech clusters.

Founder and chairman Davis Smith is central to the public story: Cotopaxi's official site connects the brand name and poverty-alleviation mission to Smith's childhood in Latin America and his attachment to the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador. Current leadership details should be verified from direct company communications or reliable business press before being treated as stable.

Evidence

Open Questions

Which revenue figures, cumulative donation totals, and grant outcomes can be independently verified from foundation reports or third-party databases?
How much of Cotopaxi's growth is DTC versus wholesale or retail partnerships today?
What is the current executive org chart and strategic focus after recent leadership transitions?