Press Releases

So just what do you do with a significant stockpile of discontinued Lexan polycarbonate products? This question dogged GSI Outdoors last year when they decided to stop selling Lexan® polycarbonate in any food or beverage product due to growing concerns over the chemical BPA. Adamently opposed to sending the resin material into landfill, they decided to be creative by forming a partnership with Leave No Trace to grind up the Lexan products and remold the recycled material into a cathole trowel with the purpose of facilitating ethical backcountry use. The new product will be available for spring 2010 with 1% of sales going to support Leave No Trace programs around the world. The motto for the program is “Can you dig it?!”

The “virtually unbreakable” Lexan ensures that the Cathole Trowel is unsurpassed for durability. The Lexan handle/spade interface also makes it stronger than any such shovel on the market. The serrated edges facilitate easy digging, even in the most stubborn soil.

GSI Outdoors has been a long-standing partner with Leave No Trace™. They are dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors. One of the core values of Leave No Trace is the belief that education is the best means to protect natural lands from recreational impacts while helping maintain access for recreation and enjoyment.

To that end, the Cathole Trowel promotes the official Leave No Trace guidelines for proper backcountry use by molding the following instructions into the product and printing an expanded version on the packaging.

• Select a site at least 70 paces/200 feet from water
• Dig hole 6”-8” deep and 4”-6” wide
• Pack out or completely bury toilet paper
• Fill hole with original dirt and disguise with native materials
• Goal: Leave no trace

GSI Outdoors is in the business of making cookware and dining products that adapt the comforts of home to active outdoor lifestyles at the campsite, base camp and anywhere in between. In 1985, brothers Don and Ian Scott and sister Kathy started the company in San Diego and then moved to Spokane, Washington in 1995, where they have been ever since. In 2001, GSI Outdoors started distributing outdoor related gifts under the name of Outside Inside. What began as a small distribution company selling blue enamel tableware has expanded into the design, manufacturing, sales and marketing of an innovative array of outdoor cookware and a whole range of eating and drinking products that are technical, innovative and fun. GSI Outdoors products are distributed worldwide.

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1023 S. Pines RD
Spokane, WA 99206
www.gsioutdoors.com