Industry Brainstorm Live On Web

Innovation for Extremes is an annual outdoors industry gathering where some of the top movers and shakers  in the UK gear world meet to discuss innovation in the industry along with speakers from other areas of science, technology and business.


Started by ex-Karrimor visionary and lurid shirt wearer Mike Parsons, the man behind the Karrimat, the KIMM and now the OMM plus more, along with academic Mary Rose, innov_ex has become a respected industry feature. This year it's even sponsored by the Outdoor Industry Association

The 2009 event takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 6 May, at Lancaster University Management School and is all about green issues and how they impact on the outdoors industry particularly in a time of recession. The agenda covers all sorts of ecological aspects of the industry from areas like Bluesign standards through to practical discussions of how companies can reduce their carbon footprint.

Specific areas of discussion include an ecological comparison between cotton and polyester, which together account for a whopping 85 per-cent of the global fibre market and their differing ecological impact. And if you thought it was just cotton = good, polyester = bad, then think again.

So why are we telling you this? Because in the ecological spirit of this year's event, the whole conference is going to be available on live video streaming over the net. So while you won't be able to enjoy real Lancaster University coffee and biccies, you will be able to sit in on all the presentations and discussions during the course of the day.

Just tune your browser to www.innovation-for-extremes.org/conference/webstream.html and follow the proceedings live on your computer.