PASADENA, Calif. — June 15, 2018 — Sleepypod®, a Pasadena-based company known for redefining pet products, today introduces Sleepypod Go Bag. Sleepypod Go Bag is built for pet travel, but clever enough for human travel. It organizes pet and human travel essentials in a go anywhere bag.

“Pet travel is on the rise thanks to pet-friendly hotels, attractions, and workspaces,” says Michael Leung, Sleepypod co-founder and lead product designer. “Since pets rely upon their owners for everything from food to protection, getting to a destination is not without challenges.”

Leung believes Sleepypod Go Bag will appeal to on the go pet owners who are looking for a simple way to organize a trip with a pet.

“Adding a pet to the travel equation requires an extra element of organization,” Leung continues. “Traveling with a pet is not as easy as grabbing a leash before heading into a car or onto an airplane.

“The list of pet travel essentials becomes more complex and lengthy depending on the travel method and length of stay, so a good travel organizer can help make for a happier, hassle-free experience.

“When on the road with your pet, Sleepypod Go Bag makes it easier to find what you need and where you need it,” Leung concludes.

Sleepypod Go Bag’s tapered profile makes it comfortable for cross-body carrying, while the streamlined grab handle amplifies on-the-go convenience. Travel is made easier by two mini packing cubes and an insulated food pouch. Thoughtful features include gusseted side pockets for water bottles or cell phone, an exterior utility ring for hanging a leash or flashlight, exterior zippered pocket for easy access items, padded main compartment and an interior pocket for separating documents or cradling a tablet/computer, and an interior lanyard for attaching keys.

As with Sleepypod’s award-winning pet carriers, the exterior of the Sleepypod Go Bag and its packing components are made from heavy duty, luggage grade ballistic nylon.

Features

• Padded main compartment;
• Top zip with double zipper pulls;
• Tapered profile for comfortable cross-body carrying;
• Structured design with flat base for stability;
• Streamlined grab handle;
• Adjustable shoulder strap with comfort padding;
• Single zipper front pocket for easy access items;
• gusseted side pockets for items like beverage bottles or phone;
• Utility ring for hanging items like a leash or flashlight; and
• Easy clean exterior is made of luggage-grade, ballistic nylon.

Main compartment

• 2 small pockets for smaller items;
• 1 large padded pocket for essential documents, computer or tablet; and
• Lanyard for hanging items like keys.

Included organizers

• 2 padded, mini cubes in Glacier Silver color with double zipper pulls for organizing travel essentials;
• 1 insulated food bag in Glacier Silver color; and
• Easy clean exterior is made of luggage-grade, ballistic nylon.

Specifications

• Go Bag main compartment – dimensions: 16 inches (tall) x 14 inches (wide) x 5 inches (deep);
• Go Bag main compartment with side pockets extended – dimensions: 16 inches (tall) x 16 inches (wide) x 5 inches (deep);
• Go Bag weight: 1.2 pounds;
• Mini Cube – dimensions: 4.5 inches (tall) x 6.5 inches (wide) x 4.5 inches (deep);
• Mini Cube weight: .25 pounds;
• Insulated Food Bag – dimensions when fully open: 13 inches (tall) x 7 inches (wide) x 4.5 inches (deep);
• Insulated Food Bag – dimensions when rolled close: 7 inches (tall) x 7 inches (wide) x 4.5 inches (deep); and
• Insulated Food Bag – weight: .45 pounds.

Colors

• Jet Black;
• Glacier Silver;
• Strawberry Red; and
• Robin Egg Blue.

Availability

Retailers may begin ordering the Sleepypod Go Bag beginning June 26. Products will be available for consumer purchase on July 16.

Posted June 15, 2018

Source: Sleepypod

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — June 14, 2018 — Black Diamond Equipment®, a global innovator in climbing, skiing and mountain sports equipment, and Green Theme International (GTI), a revolutionary PFC-free durable water repellent (DWR) that permanently bonds finishes to fibers without using a single drop of water or release of any hazardous discharge, announced their partnership for Black Diamond Equipment’s spring 2019 apparel line.

“We are pleased that Black Diamond Equipment has selected Green Theme International to be the central component of its spring 2019 technical outerwear wind collection,” stated Brian La Plante, strategic marketing director at GTI. “GTI’s rigorous product development and focus on innovation align perfectly with Black Diamond’s. It is exciting to work with a company that continually aims to bring the most advanced technologies to market, which provide the ultimate in performance and style.”

GTI’s Breathable Water Protection technology incorporates an environmentally friendly PFC-free water-repellent finish that is superior in performance compared to any other C-6, C-8, or C-0 DWR. This performance is only exceeded by its durability, as the GTI technology is permanently hyper-fused to the individual fabric fibers, and there is no need to ever refresh the jacket with an additional spray or wash-in finish. This technology will debut in Black Diamond’s spring 2019 Distance Wind Shell and grow in future seasons to be implemented into Black Diamond’s proprietary BD.Dry™ ski, alpine and rainwear collections.

Black Diamond also announces The Woolmark Company as a long-term partner for its spring 2019 apparel collection and beyond. The Woolmark Company is a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation, a not-for-profit enterprise that conducts research, development and marketing along the worldwide supply chain for Australian wool on behalf of about 60,000 woolgrowers that help fund the company. It is taking an active role in educating the internal Black Diamond team and connecting the brand with wider wool supply chain and supporting business units on product innovation.

To be showcased in its’ sportswear category, Black Diamond’s Rhythm Tee features a breakthrough co-developed Nuyarn Merino wool fabric technology at a superlight 95g/meter – making it significantly lighter than other tee shirts, while increasing durability and performance at the same time. The Rhythm’s Nuyarn fabric also dries five times faster than standard Merino, while providing 35-percent more stretch making it an ultimate high output, breathable layer or trail running shirt. The Rhythm Tee is machine washable and is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS).

“Collaborating with such an iconic brand as Black Diamond and its core group of active users allows us to showcase the natural benefits of Merino wool including thermo-regulation, odor management and movement in the context of cutting edge design and innovation,” stated Stuart McCullough, managing director of The Woolmark Company. “The very nature of our relationship demonstrates the versatility of Merino wool and the vision of Black Diamond’s apparel design team.”

Another key component of Black Diamond’s spring 2019 apparel collection is the inclusion of BD.cool™. BD.cool is Black Diamond’s innovative mineral based in-fiber cooling technology, which reflects 71 percent of near-infrared rays and reduces the wearer’s temperature. Designed for climbers, mountain runners and professionals on the move, BD.cool will be incorporated in several of Black Diamond’s sportswear tops purposefully built for the outdoors.

Additionally for spring 2019, Black Diamond is collaborating with YKK on the world’s first YKK Super Lightweight Zipper. At 40-percent lighter than any other, the new zipper will shave valuable grams for FKT’s and ultra light missions and will be featured in the Black Diamond Deploy Wind Shell.  Using a proprietary 5 denier nylon fabric from Toray Japan and weighing in at only 48 grams, the Deploy Wind Shell will be among the lightest wind protection pieces on the marketplace supporting YKK’s company tagline “Little Parts. Big Difference.”

Lastly, with features designed for climbing, and style for everything else, Black Diamond announces the addition of its new Forged Denim. Black Diamond’s new Forged Denim for spring 2019 will use a combination of best-in-class materials, incorporating Cordura™ fibers in the fabric to achieve a durable, yet unbelievable light and stretchy fabric, with climbing specific features to create the world’s best climbing denim.

“Black Diamond’s athlete-employees live by the company ethos: Use – Design – Engineer – Build – Repeat. We are dedicated to relentless innovation and integrity, designing and engineering equipment that pushes limits and challenges conventions for our global community of users,” explains Trent Bush, Black Diamond’s vice-president of apparel. “BD’s apparel partnerships for S’19 help manifest this philosophy and will empower our customers to perform at their best.”

Black Diamond Equipment’s spring 2019 collection will be on display next week at OutDoor, June 17-20, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and at booth #42081-UL at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, July 23-26, in Denver.

Posted June 15, 2018

Source: Black Diamond Equipment™

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — JUNE 14, 2018 — CrossFit Inc. announced today it was forced to bring suit against its exclusive licensing partner Reebok. The dispute stems from a unilateral change Reebok made in how it calculates royalties, efforts to hide underpayments from CrossFit and Reebok’s failure to comply with its marketing obligations under the licensing agreement.

The ten-year deal was signed in 2010 and gave Reebok the exclusive license to sell fitness apparel and footwear products bearing the CrossFit trademark. No-one other than Reebok — including CrossFit itself — could produce clothes or shoes bearing the CrossFit trademark. In exchange, Reebok agreed to pay CrossFit royalties for the CrossFit-branded products and made a marketing commitment to help sell those products.

The agreement is widely seen as a significant part of Reebok’s revival; as CrossFit and the CrossFit Games have continued to see explosive growth, sales of athletic footwear and apparel affiliated with the CrossFit name have surged.

The complaint filed by CrossFit alleges that in 2013, Reebok began altering the way it calculated royalty payments. Reebok’s calculation method, which Reebok did not disclose to CrossFit — and which was contrary to the terms of the agreement — has resulted in millions of dollars in underpaid royalties to CrossFit.  According to the complaint, from 2013 until 2016, Reebok continued this scheme, knowing that CrossFit was unlikely to detect the underpayments due to meteoric sales gains as popularity of CrossFit continued to grow and because Reebok was excluding relevant information from their royalty reports to CrossFit.  Then, after CrossFit raised questions about Reebok’s royalty payments, Reebok’s efforts to camouflage its underpayments were revealed. This is not the first lawsuit against Reebok for failure to pay royalties.

The complaint alleges that CrossFit’s suspicions were confirmed in February 2017 when Reebok admitted that it had been making royalty payments “resulting in a payment shortfall.” For the first three quarters of 2017 — and for the first time since 2012 — Reebok paid royalties in accordance with the Agreement. Yet by the end of 2017, Reebok reverted to its previous royalty calculation scheme and to date, Reebok has never paid CrossFit for any portion of its admitted “payment shortfall.”

During this same period of time, between 2011 and 2017, Reebok was also required to spend $51.75 million on marketing. However, Reebok has failed and refused to produce any credible evidence of its marketing efforts and has instead provided only multiple, conflicting sets of royalty data and has not kept accurate, complete, and up-to-date financial records.

“Reebok signed a sweetheart deal before CrossFit was a household name and our growth helped make their brand relevant again,” said CrossFit, Inc. CEO Jeff Cain.  “But it’s past time for them to meet the terms of our agreement and that’s all we are asking for today.”

CrossFit filed the lawsuit in United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Posted June 14, 2018

Source: CrossFit, Inc.