Behind the Wool Curtain

There are new things afoot at Ibex this summer.  Small things like the sprouting veggies in our new company garden, and big things like a stunning new www.ibex.com planned for launch in late August. Though we’re treading on new territory with these projects, it’s all in the Ibex tradition of finding innovative ways to grow our passions, and to put them to good use. 

Speaking of treading, we recognize that since we’re in the business of creating products, our actions inevitably impact the environment.  But we’re trying to make our footprint as light as possible. With that overall goal in mind, we’ve formed a new committee called On the Green. The stated mission of On the Green is: “To make Ibex a more sustainable company by engaging in eco-friendly practices, by finding creative ways to reduce our impact on the local and global environment, and by generating enthusiasm in our community for environmental initiatives.”  So far, those initiatives have included switching to eco-friendly office supplies, expanding our recycling program, giving employees  incentives to carpool and commute by bicycle to work, and continuing to derive all our electricity from “Cow Power,” a local alternative energy program that is gaining national attention for its conversion of methane gas from cow manure into electricity.  We realize that all of these things are small, but, like the vegetables coming up in our garden, they will nourish our efforts and inspire us to keep doing the minor things that can add up to major changes.   

Changes are in the air in the Ibex “web room”, as well.  Our website will have a new look and feel come fall, and most importantly, the design will create more friendly experience for you, our customer. We’ve been looking for ways to give you more information about all of our products and programs because we realized that a lot of the amazing stuff we know about our wool and organic cotton apparel and the projects we’re undertaking was too hidden on our old site.  The new www.ibex.com will feature more (and larger) photos of our garments on models, a “persistent” shopping cart, advanced search tools and narrowing tools, a cleaner overall design, and a blog area where you can get up to speed on all things Ibex as well as add your voice to an ongoing dialogue.   

All of these projects and many others are keeping Ibex employees busy in the office and warehouse, but we are still managing to find some time to get out in the great outdoors this summer.  CEO and founder, John Fernsell gave us all a “kick in the pants” a few months ago by hiring Laurie Greenberg, athlete and trainer extraordinaire, as the “Wellness Coach” for Ibex employees.  Laurie has helped many of us improve our fitness and eating routines, and she’s been known to push us to test the odor-resistance properties of our Ibex wool garments.  She comes to the office three times a week, sends us on a walk or run, and then checks in with each of us to see how we’re progressing towards our individual goals.  We’re almost burning enough collective calories to burn off the M&M’s that are kept in constant supply at the customer service desk!

Comments

[Sandy Friedman]

Awesome products! Need some new colors for mens products...

[Michael Boehm]

I would dearly love a short sleeve v-neck tee for the summer. Something a bit classier than a white cotton tee. Maybe a contrast band around the sleeves and neck. Crews are just too hot.