The Arctic Fox Initiative was launched in 2019 to support projects that aim to protect nature and inspire people to spend time outdoors on an international scale. The origin of the Arctic Fox Initiative was to protect the endangered Arctic Fox which is also Fjällräven's namesake. Since then we have recognised that there are environmental causes all across the world that deserve our attention and support.
“For us the Arctic Fox has become a symbol for doing our bit to protect nature. We realised that we can do a lot, but together we can do more.” says Christiane Dolva, Fjällräven’s head of sustainability. ”This is why we started the Arctic Fox Initiative, to expand the scope of projects we support and to get as many people involved as possible”
For us the Arctic Fox has become a symbol for doing our bit to protect nature. We realised that we can do a lot, but together we can do more.
CHRISTIANE DOLVA
Fjällräven’s head of sustainability
We have now created a global fund which will be distributed amongst three winning organisation on a yearly basis. To support this we have launched three special edition Kånken backpacks, two with unique print-designs by artists and a third with rainbow-coloured details. A portion of the sales of these products will go to the Arctic Fox Initiative Fund.
An update on the Arctic Fox Initiative 2019
In the inaugural year for the Arctic Fox Initiative global fund - the three winning participants were selected by our team as organisations we know are already doing incredible work. The three winning participants for 2019 were The Beach Clean Network Limited, Leave No Trace and Hej Främling! All three are incredible non-profit organisations with the goal to protect and educate people about nature and inspire them to spend more time outdoors.
An important part of the Arctic Fox Initiative is that everyone who wants can get involved in voting for their favourite projects. We started that this year by launching a public voting via social media for the three chosen organisations. All organisations named received funding but the amount of likes each project got defined the amount.
The first place winner was The Beach Clean Network Limited, a UK based non-profit organisation, set up to encourage beach cleaning. The second place winner was Leave No Trace which is a nonprofit organisation, based in the USA, dedicated to protecting the outdoors by teaching people to enjoy it responsibly. And the third place winner was Hej Främling! - a Swedish non-governmental organisation offering health boosting activities free of charge and open for everyone. In total, Fjällräven has committed to providing €120.000 of funding to these three projects within 2019.
To get involved with these organisations, or read about what they plan to do with their Arctic Fox Initiative funding - click here: The Beach Clean Network Limited, Leave No Trace and Hej Främling!
How to apply to the Arctic Fox Initiative in 2020.
For the Arctic Fox Initiative in 2020 applications will be open on the Fjällräven International website for everyone! Anyone can apply with a project that fulfils certain criteria, listed below:
- Organisations need to be non-profits.
- The main goal to protect nature and / or inspire people to spend more time outdoors
There are many bright ideas out there, and exciting projects that have the potential to make a difference to the environment. They need all of our commitment and collective effort to be realised. We are more than excited to be able to bring the Arctic Fox Initiative to a wider audience in 2020.
First published on https://foxtrail.fjallraven.com/articles/an-introduction-to-the-arctic-fox-initiative/
