“Casual Adventure is always looking for ways to contribute to environmental sustainability, and this annual project provides an easy opportunity for everyone to participate. Keep us in mind during your spring cleaning this month and make a quick stop at our store to donate. In the past, we’ve filled twelve boxes and we need the community’s help to break that record,” said Casual Adventure owner, Eric Stern.
Socks are one of the most discarded pieces of apparel—eventually finding a forever home at landfills and contributing to the 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gasses that textile production releases into the atmosphere every year. Smartwool has been able to prevent thousands of pounds of landfill waste with their effort.
Called “The Second Cut Project,” the partnership between Stern and Smartwool for Earth Day was able to collect almost 450 pounds of socks just from Arlington. The socks were then shredded and repurposed to create dog beds. Stern has asked participants to provide:
* Clean socks only, please (Stern emphasized this.)
* All brands, colors, sizes, and materials are welcome (Stern won’t discard socks unless they are dirty.)
* No rolled or paired socks, bags, rubber bands, paper clips (just single socks)
Casual Adventure is an outdoor and sporting goods specialty store located in the Virginia Square neighborhood of Arlington and has been family owned and operated since 1955, contributing to community sports teams and fundraisers and offering young scouts and campers guidance, as well as professional guidance to major summit expeditions across the globe.