REI GEAR & APPAREL

Innovative designs, tireless testing. From tents to packs, outerwear to travel bags, award-winning REI gear and apparel offers incredible performance at a great value.

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REI Gear and Apparel: Design and Testing

Our design and testing teams ensure that every product meets industry-leading standards. REI gear and clothing goes through rigorous lab testing, is put to use under real conditions in the field and fine tuned before reaching the sales floor.

Watch REI's design and testing video.

REI Brand Design and Testing Video

Meet Our Design Team

Sean Smith:

Design & Development Manager, REI Apparel

Sean oversees the design and development of all REI clothing and outerwear. A stickler for details, he insures the performance and great styling of every design. His time spent hiking, camping and skiing give him the inspiration for new and better products. Watch the outerwear video.

REI Brand Apparel Design Video

Barrett Willet:

Product Designer, REI Packs

Barrett designs REI and Novara Packs with the goal of making products with superior comfort and fit. He's also an avid backcountry skier and backpacker. Watch the pack video.

REI Brand Packs Design Video

David Mydans:

Senior Product Designer, REI Tents

Having designed his first tent in the mid '60s, David has continued to combine a love of art and the outdoors to design a wide range of REI gear over the last 23 years. Believing that a designer must be a committed practitioner of the sport, he spends time skiing, backpacking, trail running and road cycling. Watch the tent video.

REI Brand Tents Design Video

David Mydans:

Senior Product Designer, REI Sleeping Bags

Watch the sleeping bag video.

REI Brand Sleeping Bags Design Video

David Crumrine:

Design & Development Manager, REI Gear

David brings 16 years of experience in product design to his current position. He manages design and production of all REI Gear and also designs REI's travel line. David's passion for great gear has lead his team to numerous industry awards. He spends time camping with his family, bike commuting, trail running and telemark skiing. Watch the travel gear video.

REI Brand Travel Gear Design Video

Products, People and the Planet

REI ecoSensitive® Products:

While REI creates great products to get people outdoors, we are actively aiming at reducing the impact of our business operations on the environment. REI's ecoSensitive™ product line is a first step toward that goal. By identifying better materials and offering a description of the benefits (and drawbacks) of these fabrics we hope to help customers make informed choices about "green" products. We make our ecoSensitive products with a high percentage of renewable, recycled and/or organic fibers, while striving to produce them in an environmentally responsible way.

Learn more about REI's ecoSensitive® products and materials.

Sustainable Packaging Design:

At REI we are mindful of the need to reduce our environmental footprint in every package we develop. Our commitment is that our product packaging is designed, created, manufactured, delivered, used, recycled and/or disposed of in ways which are most respectful of the planet and people. We achieve this by minimizing our packaging, maximizing the use of post-consumer recycled materials, using materials that can be and are recyclable, and by designing our packaging so that the individual parts can be separated for recycling. We also work with suppliers who manufacture our packaging materials using renewable energy.

Taking a responsible approach to the packaging we use is a fundamental part of our product development. Responsible packaging is all about looking at the total picture and using the right materials from sustainable sources.

The six (6) key targets we've set ourselves are:

  • to reduce our REI Brand product packaging by 25% by 2012
  • to use only recyclable or compostable packaging
  • to increase the use of sustainable raw materials in our branded packaging and promote change to other brands
  • to put clear labeling on our packaging, telling about its recyclability
  • to optimize the parameters of how we move our product from our vendors through our supply chain
  • to leverage collaboration in the outdoor industry to develop performance toolkits toward a performance product index

We've been working on reducing our packaging and putting more recycled content into it for several years. With the sustainable design guidelines, we've focused on this even more and it's now one of our key commitments. Learn more about REI's packaging standards. (PDF 29KB)

Fair Labor:

At REI we are driven to provide safe, healthy, positive employee work environments. This extends not only to our team members directly employed by REI, but also into the supply chain where our products are manufactured.

We strive to achieve factory compliance in the contract facilities where REI products are manufactured by communicating a clear code of conduct, auditing, visiting and engaging with factories on issues of fair and ethical treatment of workers. We also collaborate with industry peers on common methods and standards to ensure a broader level of compliance across the entire industry.

Our goal is—as it has been for more than a decade—to assure that factories where REI brand gear and apparel are made provide appropriate, safe and humane working environments that meet our expectations.

Learn more about REI's fair labor practices.

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