The Mainstreet Fairness Act has officially passed the Senate by a binding vote of 69-27. The next stop for the bill is the House of Representatives. The prospective legislation is designed to level the playing field for brick and mortar stores and prevent large online retailers from dodging state sales tax.
Product counterfeiting is a salient issue in the outdoor industry affecting many manufacturers. A memorandum of understanding was signed last Apr. 25 during the 7th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting in Istanbul. It was signed by Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Frank Dassler, president of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi), André Raduan, executive director of the Brazilian Sporting Goods Industry Association (MOVE) and Vyacheslav Strashinov, president of the Russian Association of Sports Industry Enterprises (RASIE).
Monday, May 6th, 2013 will be an important date for brick-and-mortar retailers as the U.S. Senate holds its final vote on the Marketplace Fairness Act. Before the Senators put in their votes, members of the industry can urge them once again to support the act with a number of actions suggested by the Alliance for Main Street Fairness:
Oslo, Norway – UK-based charity benefitting wounded servicemen and women, Walking With the Wounded (WWTW), will once again be outfitted by Helly Hansen as its official clothing partner for the third year in a row.
WWTW stages expeditions for wounded service members. In its inaugural expedition in 2011, the organization went to the North Pole. In 2012 they attempted Mount Everest. The 2013 expedition will send three teams of wounded service members from the U.K., U.S., Australia and Canada to race each other to the geographic South Pole.
Helly Hansen will be supplying the members of the expedition with key apparel pieces including down parkas and trousers, shell jackets, mittens and baselayers.
On e-fairness legislation, the line to Congress from Tod Cohen, eBay VP and Deputy General Counsel of Global Government Relations is that it would be too costly for its sellers, and that “Congress should reject any Internet sales tax legislation that throws a new tax barrier in front of small businesses.”
At the same time, the company contradicts itself with its own ProStores website advertising software to make tax collection easy for online retailers: “Avalara’s AvaTax delivers small and mid-sized businesses a fast, easy, accurate and affordable solution for achieving sales and use tax compliance.”
Denver, CO – A non-profit dedicated to helping kids fight cancer by leading them on free outdoor adventures is building upon its success in 2012 with an expanded program for 2013. First Descents brings groups of young people on two-day to week-long excursions designed to “empower them to climb, paddle and surf beyond their diagnosis, defy their cancer, reclaim their lives and connect with others doing the same.”
The focus for 2013 is on programs for alumni of First Descents trips that offer continued support through local meet-ups and evening activities. Also in the 2013 schedule is a multi-sport program in Patagonia in partnership with Bio Bio Expeditions. For more information on First Descents programs, click here.
Cortez, CO – Osprey Packs, Inc. is sponsoring the Breast Cancer Fund’s Climb Against the Odds as its team gets ready to summit Mount Shasta in June. Customer Service Representative Kelsy Woodson of Osprey will be a member of this team, which consists of up to 40 climbers.
Beaverton, OR – Yakima and nonprofit organization Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics have partnered to teach people how to responsibly enjoy the outdoors. As a partner with Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer, Yakima is providing rack systems and other products. The Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer provide workshops targeting youth-serving organizations, college students, outdoor guides, land management staff and the general public.
Recipients of Conservation Alliance grants have succeeded in efforts to preserve a total of over 12 million acres in North America. The Department of Interior's plans for the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska include the protection of 11 million acres of habitat and recreation areas thanks in part to the efforts of grantees Audubon Alaska and Alaska Wilderness League.
With the support of Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, one million acres in British Colombia's Sacred Headwaters will be protected from oil and gas extraction. The State of Maine and Downeast Lakes Land Trust have secured 21,870 acres adding to 1.4 million contiguous acres of protected land along the US-Canada border.