Building on the massive growth of membership in 2013, 2014 has been another incredible year for the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA). Big strides have been made in what the European outdoor Industry has achieved in the name of conservation.
By the OutDoor show in July, OutDoor (Messe Friedrichshafen), Pertex, KEEN Footwear, Nikwax, ISPO (Messe München), Patagonia and the European Outdoor Group, which is also the Founder Member of the Association had pledged to become the first 7 Sustaining Members of EOCA, underlining their unwavering dedication to the protection of the environments the industry and its customers depend on. Their support of the background working of the Association will ensure that EOCA can build on its growth in a sustainable way, ensure that 100% of membership fees continue to go directly onto conservation projects and enable a second annual funding round to take place.
For the first time in the history of the Association, EOCA had enough money to stage a second funding round in September. This attracted a record number of applications, drew tens of thousands of votes from around the world for conservation projects, and brought the total number of consumers reached during both voting rounds this year to over 18 million, enabling a total of €280,885 to be spent on conservation projects.
