How to buy outdoor gear and change the world
An adventure travel website, an outdoor clothing/ equipment retailer and a sustainable development charity join forces to ensure money from sales of adventure kit go to where it is needed most.
Bristol, September 2011
If you ever wished more of the money you spend on shiny new kit could go to good causes, now you have an answer. A unique new partnership between adventure travel website Much Better Adventures, mountain sports retailers Ellis Brigham and the Geotourism Development Foundation (GDF) does just that.
Follow a link on the Much Better Adventures homepage to the Ellis Brigham online store, and 2% of everything you spend will go to the charity GDF, supporting community enterprises in the developing world.
GDF provide funding to viable community projects in the form of low interest, flexible loans. This helps them get off the ground and give communities the chance to build their own sustainable futures through tourism. They guarantee that 100% of donations via this scheme will go straight into the projects themselves.
Alex Narracott, co-founder of Much Better Adventures, said ‘We are delighted to have brought this partnership together. It takes us a step closer to connecting people’s adventures with sustainable development – the long-term aim of Much Better Adventures.’
So this winter when you buy your new ski jacket or goggles, you can hit the slopes knowing that some of that money spent has gone to kick-starting such diverse, life changing initiatives as homestays in India, food security in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and community tourism in Malawi.
Visit www.muchbetteradventures.com to find out more and go shopping.
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Notes to editors
Much Better Adventures connect adventure seekers directly to local places to stay, guides and instructors. They have over 1000 providers to choose from around the world, and were recently voted ‘One of the Best Travel Websites Ever’ in the Guardian. They are recognised for their independent verification and support for those suppliers with a true commitment to sustainable practice – the muchbetter approved choices.
Contact Alex Narracott for more information.
Email: alex@muchbetteradventures.com Tel: +44 (0)1172302414
Ellis Brigham is the UK’s premier retail stores and online shop for ski hardware, mountaineering equipment and outdoor clothing, A family-owned business with 75 years of outdoor sports retailing experience, Ellis Brigham stocks equipment from more than 100 brands including The North Face, Berghaus and Salomon. The company has 23 stores nationwide in the following locations: Covent Garden, Westfield, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Aviemore, Fort William, Chester, Capel Curig and Tamworth.
Contact Mark Brigham for more information.
Email: mark.brigham@ellis-brigham.com. Tel: 0117 974 1157
Geotourism Development Foundation are a UK and US registered charity. It works primarily, but not exclusively, in the developing world, where tourism is a major source of revenue and employment. It aims to increase the share of benefits to locals by working with community development initiatives and the local tourism sector to create new types of tours which differ from those offered on the standard tourist trails, that are typically sold and managed by offshore travel companies.
Contact Jennifer Aston for more information.
http://www.geotourismfoundation.org
Email: info@geotourismfoundation.org Tel: +27 21 9758436