Assignment 3: Blog Post

Supporting a Sustainable Future through Circularity and Ethical Manufacturing

Arc’teryx is about so much more than durable, high-quality outdoor gear designed to last a lifetime. We are committed to creating superior gear that stands the test of time, reducing our carbon footprint, reducing consumption, and promoting fair and ethical manufacturing.

We believe in taking every step we can towards a sustainable future. With our ReBird program and our efforts toward Fair Trade Certified manufacturing, we are taking important strides toward a more sustainable future. Here’s what we’re doing to make a difference and how you can be a part of it.

Circularity Brings Everything Back Around

At Arc’teryx, we’re embracing circularity. What is that, you might ask? Well, it’s engaging in “practices that optimize resource use and minimize waste across the entire production and consumption cycle, emphasizing sustainability and economic efficiency” (McKinsey & Company, 2024).

With our ReBird program, we help you find new homes for your gear. We want to ensure that our products live their longest life, and the best way to do that is to connect people with others who might have jackets they no longer use, hiking bags they’ve moved on from, or shoes they’ve outgrown.

The ReBird program is not just a reselling program, it also offers numerous tips and tricks to keep your gear at its best for years to come. If your jacket sustains a tear, send it to us and we will repair it. This keeps gear in circulation and keeps it out of a landfill.

If a product cannot be suitably repaired, we deconstruct it and reclaim and recycle as much material as possible, minimizing landfill waste. By participating in the ReBird program, you’re helping your gear to last longer, reducing waste, and facilitating a more sustainable future.

Responsible, Ethical, and Fair Trade Certified Manufacturing

Arc’teryx takes manufacturing standards seriously. Behind every high-performing, high-quality product we produce is a hard-working person. We are working towards having 80% of our products Fair Trade Certified by 2025. What does this mean for our workers? Each purchase of a Fair Trade Certified item contains a price premium that goes directly to workers. At Arc’teryx, we believe in giving our employees a safe work environment with fair wages.

Visit a Repair Booth and Experience Circularity

During the month of April, we’re launching ReBird pop-up repair booths in Vancouver. Stop by Gastown, Granville Island, and Downtown to see just how easy it is to repair your gear. See and feel the quality for yourself and get tips from our ReBird experts on how to extend the life of your gear and keep it in peak condition for years to come.

What Can You Do?

Teamwork makes the dream work! Sustainability is a shared undertaking and we invite you to take part.

  • Buy Responsibly: only buy what you need, and invest in long-lasting, high-quality items
  • Don’t Replace, Repair Instead: use our ReBird services to send your gear in to keep it ship-shape condition
  • Give Your Items a New Lease on Life: Resell your used Arc’teryx products through our ReBird program
  • Talk About It: share your recycling/reselling/repairing story with #ReBird on social media
  • Thank an Arc’teryx Employee: use the hashtag #Arc’teryxThanks to show your support to our hard-working employees

If we work together, we can ensure that we keep moving forward on the journey of sustainability. Do your part and #WearForLife, or pass it along to someone else with #ReBird and keep more products out of the landfill.

References:

McKinsey & Company. (2024, June 14). What is circularity?. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-circularity# 

Sustainability. Sustainability | Arc’teryx. (n.d.). https://arcteryx.com/ca/en/explore/sustainability 

Assignment 3: Press Release

Arc’teryx Tackles Sustainability & Circularity
News Provide By:
Arc’teryx
March 16, 2025

Vancouver, March 16, 2025 – Starting April 1, 2025, Arc’teryx embarks on a mission to spread the word about its dedication to sustainability, circularity, and fair and ethical treatment of workers. For the entire month of April, Arc’teryx will be engaging with the public via digital, traditional, and experiential marketing methods.

Sustainability is a term everyone is familiar with. But what about ‘circularity’? Circularity refers to “practices that optimize resource use and minimize waste across the entire production and consumption cycle, emphasizing sustainability and economic efficiency.” This is what Arc’teryx aims to promote. “We at Arc’teryx are fully dedicated to engaging in and promoting circularity. It’s so important, now more than ever, to embrace these earth-saving initiatives,” says Arc’teryx CEO, John Smith.

Pop-up repair booths in Vancouver will encourage consumers to repair and retain items for longer instead of buying new. Every Saturday in April, booths will be set-up in Gastown, Granville Island, and Downtown. Exact addresses will be available on the Arc’teryx website and social media closer to the event date.

To promote our ethical and responsible manufacturing efforts, short videos and promoting real workers’ experiences in our manufacturing facilities will be featured on our social media channels. People are encouraged to share their experiences with Arc’teryx products on the posts and include the hashtag #Arc’teryxThanks.

Get involved in our mission and spread the word using #ReBird and #Arc’teryxThanks across Instagram, Faceook, and TikTok.

About Arc’teryx: Founded in Vancouver in 1989 as Rock Solid and rebranded to Arc’teryx in 1991, Arc’teryx is a Canadian company specializing in high-end outdoor clothing and equipment. Taking its inspiration from the rugged scenery around it, Arc’teryx creates clothing to last and perform well in the most extreme conditions.

Contact:
Ginger Powell
Public Relations Coordinator
powellv15@mytru.ca
555-555-5555

Assignment 3: Communications Plan

Key messages: As a company, Arc’teryx prides itself on sustainability. As part of their mission towards a sustainable future, they ensure the products they provide are high-quality and long-lasting. Arc’teryx promotes circular consumption, with a specific website dedicated to consumers reselling their pre-loved Arc’teryx products. In addition to this, Arc’teryx gives customers tips and tricks to keep their items in the best condition. Circularity is further promoted by their ReBird site, which allows consumers to send their pre-loved gear so that it may be deconstructed and parts repurposed so fewer materials end up in a landfill.

Arc’teryx also supports responsible manufacturing. Their manufacturing facilities are working towards implementing the Fair Trade Certified program, which includes a price premium that goes directly to workers. The goal is to have 80% of Arc’teryx products as part of this program as of 2025. As part of the concern for workers’ well-being, manufacturing facilities support workers’ rights, and health and safety.

Target audience(s): Arc’teryx targets primarily active, middle/high income people with an interest in outdoor activities. Whether they are serious outdoor adventurers, or more casual lifestyle consumers, Arc’teryx wants to cater to people interested in a luxury brand of outdoor gear. People who have an interest in the environment and sustainability are also targeted.

Channels and tactics to promote the initiative: The target audience of Arc’teryx is relatively affluent people ranging from 30-50 and so a mix of social media and traditional media will be effective in reaching them. Promoting Arc’teryx’s CSR campaign will be effective on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Partnering with influencers and brand ambassadors will provide credibility to the message. Arc’teryx can provide products for influencers to rate/review online and they will mention CSR initiatives in their posts, like the ReBird program.

Encouraging user-generated content about repairing their own gear and promoting a branded hashtags, like #ReBird will also help promote Arc’teryx’s support of circular consumerism.

Another tactic that will be employed is pop-up repair booths in Vancouver. Consumers can stop by and see the quality of products firsthand and experience the care and sustainability of repairing their own gear.

Arc’teryx will use its owned media to promote their message. Their website already has an extensive page on their CSR efforts, but promoting it to the front page will help enhance exposure. Posting small video clips of their manufacturing facilities and featuring actual workers and their experiences on their social media will help promote the CSR campaign.

Proposed evaluation methods to measure campaign success: The success of this campaign will be measured in social media mentions and positive comments. Measuring how many branded hashtags are used during the campaign will also be way to check success.

Assignment 2: Press Release

Thompson Rivers University Student Newspaper Celebrates Relaunch with Interactive Event

News Provided by:
The Omega
March 25, 2025

Kamloops, Mar 25, 2025 – The long-awaited relaunch of Thompson Rivers University’s student newspaper, The Omega, is happening on April 10, 2025. Join us at noon on Student Street, Old Main for an afternoon of fun, games, speeches, and meet-and-greet with student journalists as The Omega celebrates its official return. This free event aspires to reinvigorate the student body’s interest in campus news, and promote participation amongst a wide variety of program majors.

After a multi-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Omega returns to campus newsstands revived and refreshed. The Omega has a long history of providing students a platform to discuss campus issues, tell stories and refine their journalism skills.

Editor-in-Chief, Robert McAlaster, believes in the importance of the student newspaper and has gone to great lengths to modernize the content and appeal to a more diverse, and namely, younger crowd. Under his watch, he aims to continue The Omega’s legacy of professional student journalism.

The relaunch event will take over Student Street in Old Main and provide fun, interactive, and engaging experiences for attendees. Speeches by Sean Brady, manager of The Omega, and Editor-in-Chief, Robert McAlaster will bookend the event. The event will include a Story Suggestion Wall where students can write their story ideas on sticky notes and attach them to a large, temporary wall. A panel of student journalists will be available to discuss their experiences and answer questions. There will be a headline writing contest where students will write and submit their own headlines for a variety of fictional new stories. The winner will receive TRU swag. There will be a selection of typewriters available for students to try their hand at writing a headline or short news article the old-fashioned way. Submissions will be displayed next to the Story Suggestion Wall.

A selection of free snacks and drinks will be provided. The event is free and open to all students, regardless of major, as well as all faculty. This will be a great opportunity to get involved, share ideas, and learn more about The Omega.

For more information, visit https://theomega.news/.

About The Omega: The Omega is Thompson Rivers University’s independent student newspaper, covering campus events, news, sports, arts and culture and more.

Contact:

Ginger Powell
(555)-555-5555
powellv15@mytru.ca

The Omega
Editor-in-Chief
Robert McAlaster
(236)-597-1592
editor@theomega.news


Distribution Plan:

The press release will be sent to a variety of local news outlets and radio stations. Since the event primarily targets students, the press release will be sent to various campus clubs, faculty deans, and the student union. The faculty deans can spread the information with their respective faculty colleagues who can then pass the message on to the students in their classes. Since this event aims to attract students from every faculty, the most direct way to spread the news is for them to hear it directly from their professors during class time.

The student newspaper is an important function of the student body and The Omega would like to attract students from all faculties to participate in the event, and have their say in future news stories. The best way to do that will be to send the press release to a wide range of student faculties and clubs so the event information can be disseminated from there.

Local news agencies and radio stations will play a role in spreading the news, but less likely to be effective in attracting students outside of the journalism program.

CBC Daybreak Kamloops
Rob Polson
(250)-374-6802
kamloops@cbc.ca

Infotel
Marshall Jones – Managing Editor
(250)-718-2724
mjones@infonews.ca

Infotel
Shannon Ainslie – Reporter
(250)-819-6089
sainslie@infonews.ca 

CFJC Today
460 Pemberton Terrace
Kamloops, BC
V2C 1T5
kamloops-newsroom@pattisonmedia.com

Castanet Kamloops
Kristen Holliday – Reporter
kristin@castanetkamloops.net

TRUSU
Parth Patel – Entertainment Coordinator
(250)-828-5289
p.patel@trusu.ca

TRU – Dean of Arts
Dr. Mark Wallin – Interim Dean
(250)-828-5170
mwallin@tru.ca

TRU – Dean of Law
Daleen Millard – Dean
250-828-5169
dmillard@tru.ca

TRU – Dean of Science
Dr. Greg Anderson – Dean
(250)-852-7137
ganderson@tru.ca

TRU – Dean of nursing
Rani H. Srivastava
(250)-828-5441
rsrivastava@tru.ca

TRU – Dean of Trades and Technology
Baldev Pooni – Dean
(250)-828-5110
bpooni@tru.ca

TRU – Chair of Bob Gaglardi School of Business, Marketing
Dr. Laura Lamb – Chair
(250)-852-6277
llamb@tru.ca

TRU Journalism and Communications Club
Aibiike Alymova & Anika Peters
trusujourcommclub@gmail.com

TRU Marketing Club
Rochelle Dsouza
marketingclubtrusu@gmail.com

TRU Photography Club
Diego Machado
Edgardo Sanchez
trusuphotoclub@gmail.com

TRU Enactus Club
Matteo Fattor
Callen Rego
info@enactustru.ca

TRU Pride Club
Payton Hiebert
Jessie Dhillon
tru.pride.on.campus@gmail.com

B100 Kamloops
Dave Barry – Director of News & Information
dave.barry@pattisonmedia.com


Ginger Powell

Portrait of Ginger Powell and her cat, Lenore.

Born and raised in Ontario, I moved to Kamloops in 2015. My passion for gardening and all things plant-related led me to complete a Horticulture Management diploma in 2021 at Thompson Rivers University. After a few years in the industry, I decided to expand my skills and am currently a fourth-year Bachelor of Communications and Digital Journalism student, specializing in public relations and minoring in marketing. Gardening remains a cornerstone of my life, along with my two dogs, Geoff and Jyn, and my cat, Lenore. I also volunteer with Sammy’s Forgotten Felines, a non-profit cat rescue, where I foster cats and create the organization’s member newsletter. This year, I am embarking on an entrepreneurial journey by starting a landscape consulting and design firm with an old colleague.