“This is a business,” the East Grand Rapids resident and New Zealand native told more than four dozen people at inaugural Designing Sustainable Communities
through Business event at Aquinas College. Still, the company’s beginnings are rooted in a deep concern for minimizing its ecological footprint, Throne said. His company become an “environmental villain,” Throne said. “He realized the business he was creating was destroying the natural world.” So Chouinard — a self-proclaimed “reluctant businessman” — began making new aluminum chocks removable by hand, preserving crags’ cracks for future climbers, Throne said. A Common Threads recycling program started in 2004 asks consumers to bring in used garments to make more. “It’s not enough to create a message with just one part of your brand,” Throne said.
“We make our products in China,” Throne said. “It’s true. Let’s not beat around the bush.