# Cotopaxi **Type:** venture **Status:** Draft **Confidence:** Medium **Focus:** outdoor gear, apparel, social enterprise, B Corp, philanthropy **Stage:** Established growth brand **Location:** Salt Lake City, UT **Updated:** 2026-06-19 **Needs-reviewed:** 2026-06-19 **Hero:** https://picsum.photos/seed/cotopaxi-gear-for-good-2026/1600/1100 **Pull:** *Colorful outdoor gear with a built-in give-back model: 1% of revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation.* **Relates:** cites [Official Website: Cotopaxi](cotopaxi-official-website.md) **Relates:** cites [B Lab Profile: Cotopaxi](cotopaxi-b-lab.md) ## Summary Cotopaxi is a Utah-based outdoor gear and apparel company founded in the 2013-2014 period and publicly framed around "Gear For Good." It designs and sells backpacks, bags, clothing, travel gear, and outdoor accessories, with a brand identity built around bright colorways, responsible materials, and a give-back model. For this wiki, Cotopaxi is a fit if the venture scope includes mission-driven consumer companies, Utah outdoor brands, and social-enterprise operating models. It is not a deep-tech company; its relevance is in brand, supply chain, materials, retail execution, and the question of whether a growth consumer business can keep an impact promise intact as it scales. ## 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. The wiki should treat Cotopaxi as a credible example of a Utah mission-driven consumer brand, while still checking foundation reports and independent reporting before repeating cumulative donation totals or broad poverty-alleviation outcomes. ## 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 Likely needs include product designers with outdoor and apparel experience, supply-chain and sustainability specialists, DTC marketing and community leaders, retail and 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 - [Official Website: Cotopaxi](cotopaxi-official-website.md) - [B Lab Profile: Cotopaxi](cotopaxi-b-lab.md) ## See Also - [Mercato Partners](mercato-partners.md) - Utah growth investor cited in wiki resources as having backed Cotopaxi. ## 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? - The placeholder hero should be swapped for a cleared product or brand image when licensing is resolved.