

Show HN: Cotopaxi – Gear for Good - jacoste
http://www.cotopaxi.com

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bikamonki
Disclaimer: I am ecuadorean. Unless you are the same company as these guys:
[https://www.equiposcotopaxi.com.ec/mobile/](https://www.equiposcotopaxi.com.ec/mobile/)
then your social good cause will lose ground on the fact that you would be
damaging a local industry by using an established brand. Now, please allow
some criticism to your logo. I am sure you were after a cool name like
Patagonia, and el Cotopaxi is indeed super cool, it is the highest active
volcano in the world, a perfect cone covered with snow all year round, located
in a magnificent valley (el páramo) and surrounded by other beautiful ancient
mountains and lakes. A must-add destination for anyone's bucket list. Wild
life includes the mighty condor (biggest flying bird on the planet), andean
fox, deer, falcons, mustangs and bulls (both introduced by humans); and
exactly zero llamas ;) Okay, maybe there are five or six at the tourist area
brought in by a local entreprenuer to sell la foto to los gringos. So, I
advice you scratch the andean camel off your logo and use the superb volcano
instead (assuming you can legally use the brand that is).

[http://kantoborgy.com/leonardo_salvador_vivar_ayora/2012/ant...](http://kantoborgy.com/leonardo_salvador_vivar_ayora/2012/antisana/20121206/lsva_micatambo_morurco_cotopaxi.jpg)

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davismsmith
bikamonki, que tal? Thanks for your feedback. I'm the founder and while I'm
American, I moved to Latin America when I was four. I spent my entire
childhood and early teenage years in the region, including Ecuador. I've also
spent six years of my adult life in Latin America as well. I chose Cotopaxi
because I lived in Quito and would often go camping at Cotopaxi with my dad.
Additionally, I went to school at Academia Cotopaxi. The name has always had
special meaning to me. Additionally, I saw llamas for the first time when I
was at Cotopaxi. I've since lived in Peru and Bolivia and have seen thousands
of llamas in the wild. I feel the llama is a perfect representation of our
brand: rugged, but kind. ¡Viva Ecuador!

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micro_cam
This is a really crowded space, what sets you apart?

Patagonia, GoLite, Nau and others all have social commitments and are doing
rally cool things in terms of supply chain transparency or you can buy from a
small cottage maker like nw alpine, cilogear or westcomb (all made in the usa
or candada). Are you a B-corp like some of the others mentioned?

Do you have any connection to the culture you appropriated for your name?
Sherpa Adventure Gear is at least owned made and tested by sherpas...

Looking at this stuff as an experienced climber/hiker/mountaineer/skier it
looks poorly thought out or poorly described. Ie either the designes were
thrown together or the guy who wrote the description wasn't aware of the
purpose and has no experience layering for the outdoors.

Focusing on the Pacaya coat for example, Polartech alpha is a really cool
breathable puffy coat fabric released in the last couple of years but you
don't mention that or if the face fabric you use complements that (ie the
westcomb tango similar to your pacaya uses pertex equilibrium. See also the
rab strata, marmot isotherm, and new patagonia nano air (non alpha but similar
fabric) all of which make a big deal of the increased breathability of these
new fabrics) or even list a denier for it...it could be some pu coated nylon
that breathes like a ziplock.

You mention polartech power stretch which is a specific fabric but don't
mention where it is used or why you would want to add a breathable fleece
panel to an already breathable alpha jacket.

And what the hell is a scuba hood? Does it go under or over a helmet? And how
much does this thing weigh? This is the single most important piece of
information most serious outdoor people will look for.

Some of the pieces seem technical and some are made from waxed cotton with
buttons...as a young brand i'd suggest focusing either on pieces that actually
work in the outdoors or stylish ones but not trying to do both until you
develop a following.

I can't tell what is up with the packs. I'm ignoring the cotton/leather ones
and the luzon does look okay (similar to athe popular rei flash) but the rest
have tons of zippers in strange places and there is a hugh gap in your line in
the "actually useful for serious outdoor pursuits ranging from 1-3 day trips"
30-55 liter size.

My suggestion would be that, if you want to market yourself as an outdoor
company focus on making quality pieces that fill outdoors peoples needs and be
better about listing specs to help people decided if what you have is better
then what else is out there. Being "for good" is not particularly unique in
this industry.

If you want to do fashion do fashion.

~~~
davismsmith
Thanks for the feedback, micro_cam. We just relaunched our site today and
simultaneously launched our apparel today. We had to rush to get everything
live, so many of your requests are coming soon. Thanks for your patience! Keep
in mind that we're only 4 months old. We certainly have plenty of work to do.

Regarding the product feedback, our designers are award-winning gear and
apparel designers who previously worked at Black Diamond, Gregory, Marmot,
Dakine, Columbia and Nike. We used data to determine which products to launch
with - more is coming soon, so keep an eye out for the 30-55 liter packs.

Regarding your feedback about sticking to core outdoor products, we aren't
looking to be like everyone else. I'd be happy to discuss in person or
offline, and I think you'd understand why we're going with this approach. I've
spent 10 years as an entrepreneur, building e-commerce businesses and brands.
We have plenty to learn, and we'll certainly make some mistakes, but I feel
pretty confident in our brand positioning, line logic and product strategy.
Loved the feedback though. I'm going to share it with our team. Really
appreciate you taking the time to give it to us!

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jacoste
Thanks HN! I am one of the founders of Cotopaxi. We are a direct-to-consumer
outdoor brand focused on humanity, ie. each product contributes to various
social causes. Having worked in non-profit and built e-commerce businesses
before, my co-founders and I are eager to find a way to give back more
sustainably. We would love your questions and feedback! Thanks!

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jmathai
Looks really awesome. Will definitely have to look around and recommend to
others.

Is the ambassador model similar to the "jewelry parties" or Pampered Chef? Are
you a non profit?

My wife just started working with Noonday Collection [1] which seems somewhat
similar but for women's jewelry.

[1] [http://www.noondaycollection.com/](http://www.noondaycollection.com/)

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jacoste
Thanks jmathai. Re ambassadors, we got so many request of people who just
wanted to help out, so at this point this is just an awesome group of early
brand supporters. Love noondaycollection.com, would love to connect!

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philco
Homerun team. I'd love for everything I buy in the future to be direct to
consumer goods.

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jacoste
Thanks philco! We share your passion for D2S ;)

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holychiz
@jacoste: I'm a good guy so I only wear black tees. :) any plan for something
in that color? I'll probably break my own rules for your products since you
guys support water accessibility in poor countries, a cause near and dear to
me.

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mauricio-OH
I thought I was the only one thinking this! I only wear black tshirts at work
so +1 for this!

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jacoste
Great, thanks for the feedback. Black tees will happen soon!

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lizzardgizzard
The VOLTA roll top is amazing!...coming from someone who works at Cotopaxi and
has been testing a prototype. It fit my 70m climbing rope, quickdraws, shoes,
harness, water, and chalk bag....and goes to a great cause.

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mholt
Very cool. As you expand your product line, I doubt it will be too long before
Backcountry (also based in Utah) takes notice.

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frequentflyeru
Would love to see more info about the factories, average wages, ages, etc.
Looks great otherwise!

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davismsmith
Absolutely. We had an AP photo journalist visit us on trips to our factories.
Our pack factory has over 3,000 people who have worked there for over 10 years
(the factory only had about 4-5k employees 10 years ago), so retention is
insanely high. They pay livable wages, have a healthy culture (volleyball and
basketball clubs, etc). We care deeply about where and how we source our
products. We're working with an organization that helps brands certify
responsible sourcing. Keep in mind that we're only 4.5 months old. We have a
lot of work to do still, but we'll get there! Thanks for your feedback. We'll
work on providing more details shortly!

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podviaznikov
Great name. Are you from Ecuador or have you been there?

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davismsmith
podviaznikov - This is Davis Smith, the founder of Cotopaxi. I also love the
name! I'm not from Ecuador, but I moved to Latin America when I was 4 years
old and spent part of my childhood and teenage years in Ecuador. I used to go
camping with my dad at the base of Cotopaxi, so it has always had special
meaning to me. I thought it was the perfect name for a socially minded outdoor
brand. Have you been to Ecuador?

~~~
bikamonki
[https://www.equiposcotopaxi.com.ec/](https://www.equiposcotopaxi.com.ec/)

~~~
davismsmith
Equipos Cotopaxi is a retailer in Ecuador. Cotopaxi is a product brand in the
United States. This is pretty common across the world to have different
companies, doing different things, in different countries, with similar names.
;) Love their thinking though!

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gaylemcd
Love the designs and approach!

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jacoste
Thanks gaylemcd, really appreciate it! Our designers are pushing hard to
innovate while designing for versatility, ie max opportunities to use/wear
each Cotopaxi product.

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ronbo
two bricks in a school from an $89 satchel? Might one not do better there?

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jacoste
The problem with this project is crazy inflation in Ghana. We were actually
really surprised about the prices for building material but the good news is
that the community is coming together to provide the labor to make it happen.
Very inspiring story of the guy who is behind this project. His grandmother
(who is illiterate) insisted that he would go to the school regularly. This
enabled him to get a scholarship for a statistics undergrad program in the US
and he just graduated from UofU with a PhD in Public Health with emphasis on
bio statistics. He has now returned to Ghana to rebuild the school (which is
cancelled during rainy season as the roof is totally leaky and turns the
school into a mud pool).

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wilsonfiifi
Absolutely right about the inflation in Ghana! A bag of cement has gone from
ghc19 to ghc33 in about a year and the exchange rate is nuts! But as a
Ghanaian I really appreciate your effort and what you are trying to achieve.

The satchel is really nice and I hope you ship to Ghana!

Can I make a few suggestions in order to reduce the construction cost for the
school? Since there appears to be quite a bit of laterite in the area you
could investigate hydraform blocks a bit further
[http://www.hydraform.com](http://www.hydraform.com). The blocks use much less
cement, are interlocking so construction is quicker and you need less mortar.
Also the use of laterite should ensure a cooler interior.

Best of luck and we'll done.

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rpiip
Love it!

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jacoste
Thanks rpiip!

