A llama-branded B Corp from Salt Lake City that turns leftover fabric and a poverty-fighting mission into some of the outdoor industry's most colorful gear.
Cotopaxi makes backpacks, travel packs, jackets and apparel - but ask its founder what business it is in and the answer flips the usual script. The Salt Lake City company sells outdoor gear, Davis Smith has said, "in order to fund our impact work, not the other way around." That single inversion, mission first and merchandise second, explains almost everything unusual about the brand.
Named after an active volcano in Ecuador near where Smith lived as a child, Cotopaxi launched in 2014 as a benefit corporation with a promise stamped on every product: "Gear for Good." The company commits 1% of its revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which awards grants to vetted nonprofits working to alleviate extreme poverty - concentrated in Latin America, and organized around education, healthcare and livelihood training. It is not a marketing line bolted onto the catalog. It was written into the company's structure from the first day.
The gear itself is hard to miss. Where most outdoor brands trade in muted blacks and technical grays, Cotopaxi builds packs in bright, clashing color-blocks and puts a llama on the label. The look is deliberate: in a crowded market, being the colorful one is a strategy, not an accident.
"We sell some of the best outdoor gear around in order to fund our impact work, not the other way around."Davis Smith - Founder
One-of-a-kind backpacks sewn from remnant and deadstock fabric. The sewer chooses each colorway, so no two are identical - a manufacturing constraint turned into the brand's signature and a way to cut textile waste.
The flagship travel line (26L, 28L, 35L, 50L) with a suitcase-style clamshell opening, air-mesh straps and luggage pass-through. It turned Cotopaxi into a cult favorite among frequent travelers.
Lightweight insulation using 800-fill Responsible Down Standard down and recycled shells, recently revamped with a roomier "Max Puff" style for colder conditions.
Men's and women's outdoor apparel, including the recognizable Llama pullover hoodies and fleeces, extending the color-forward aesthetic beyond bags.
Agua water bottles, beanies and hats in Cotopaxi's signature palette round out the kit for adventurers and commuters alike.
A 24-hour team adventure race with 300-plus app-delivered challenges across food, fitness, service and teamwork - a community event that markets the brand by getting people outside, not by buying ads.
Cotopaxi started as a pure direct-to-consumer brand and only opened to wholesale several years in. Today it sells across four channels: its own site and roughly 20 North American stores, wholesale partners such as REI and Dick's Sporting Goods, international flagships in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and marketplaces including Amazon, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.
Direct-to-consumer remains the majority of sales, with wholesale estimated at roughly a quarter to a third. As e-commerce dominates the category, Cotopaxi is doing the contrarian thing - opening physical stores, and planning to roughly double its footprint to about 40 locations by 2029, treating each store as a place to feel the mission, not just buy the product.
Cotopaxi's customers skew younger and values-driven: adventurers, urban commuters and frequent travelers who want quality gear that also stands for something. With a large direct audience - around 575,000 Instagram followers - the brand reaches people who research where their money goes and reward companies that give visible, verifiable answers.
The problem it addresses is a familiar tension for that shopper: sustainability and social claims are easy to make and hard to trust. Cotopaxi answers with structure rather than slogans. The 1%-of-revenue commitment, the remnant-fabric Del Día line, and a stack of third-party certifications - Certified B Corporation, Climate Neutral, 1% for the Planet, Fair Trade, Responsible Down Standard - are designed to be audited, not just admired.
For the everyday user, the payoff is practical. An Allpa pack organizes a week of travel into a carry-on. A Del Día daypack is genuinely unique. A Fuego jacket packs warmth into a small stuff sack. And every purchase routes a slice of revenue toward poverty-alleviation programs, so the buyer's outdoor habit funds someone else's opportunity.
It also solves a problem most brands ignore: waste. By building products from leftover material and offering repair and trade-in options, Cotopaxi extends product life and keeps fabric out of landfills - turning an environmental constraint into a design language.
Figures are approximate, drawn from public reporting; 2021 is directional. Cotopaxi is privately held.
Cotopaxi competes with the broad outdoor and travel-gear field - Patagonia, REI Co-op, The North Face, Arc'teryx, Fjällräven and Osprey among them. On the impact axis, Patagonia is the closest analog; on product, plenty of brands make capable packs. Cotopaxi's edge is the combination: a color-forward look, remnant-fabric sustainability, travel-friendly design, and a giving model wired into the company's legal structure.
| Trait | Cotopaxi | Typical outdoor brand |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate structure | Benefit corp from inception; B Corp certified | Standard C-corp; impact often added later |
| Giving model | 1% of revenue to its own foundation | Varies; often profit-based or campaign-based |
| Signature product | Del Día packs from remnant fabric - each unique | Standardized colorways at scale |
| Aesthetic | Bright, clashing color-blocks, llama mascot | Muted, technical palettes |
| Community | Questival 24-hour adventure race | Sponsorships and ambassador programs |
Cotopaxi's real expertise is operational: manufacturing quality gear from unconventional materials, and running a foundation that turns a fixed slice of revenue into measurable outcomes. As of its 2023 Impact Report, the company had directed more than $3.3M cumulatively to its foundation and cited more than 4.25 million individuals in extreme poverty helped through grantee programs.
Founder Davis Smith brought a builder's résumé to the mission - he previously co-founded Baby.com.br in Brazil, named "Brazil's Startup of the Year" in 2012. In 2023 he stepped down as CEO to serve a two-year mission in Brazil, and the company has continued to grow under new leadership, including CEO Lindsay Shumlas.
B Corp, Climate Neutral, 1% for the Planet, Fair Trade Certified products, Responsible Down Standard and bluesign-approved materials.
Highlighted by Fortune, Fast Company and Inc. as a business changing the world; celebrated "8 years" as a B Corp.
Davis Smith launches the company as a benefit corporation with the "Gear for Good" promise and hosts the first Questival.
The Allpa travel line launches and the company raises roughly $11.1M to scale.
A major growth round validates the purpose-and-profit model and adds board expertise.
Sales roughly double year over year as retail distribution widens.
Davis Smith steps down as CEO to serve a mission in Brazil; the 2023 Impact Report tallies millions given to poverty-alleviation nonprofits.
Lindsay Shumlas becomes CEO as revenue surpasses $150M amid outdoor-retail headwinds.
Craig Rowley joins as CMO; new Allpa sizes and a revamped Fuego collection launch.
Opens a Jackson, Wyoming store and targets roughly 40 stores by 2029.
| Round | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Series A | $6.5M | ~2015 |
| Growth | ~$11.1M | 2016 |
| Series B | $45M | Sep 2021 |
| Other (approx.) | ~$6.19M | May 2025 |
Investors include Bain Capital Double Impact, Greycroft, Forerunner Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. Later-round and valuation figures are approximate, from third-party trackers.
• The company is named after an active volcano in Ecuador.
• Its mascot is a llama, and its gear is known for bold, mismatched color-blocking.
• You can't request a specific Del Día colorway - the sewer decides, so each pack is unique.
• The first Questival in 2014 drew roughly 5,000 people.
Profile compiled from public sources. Figures marked approximate are drawn from third-party reporting and trackers; Cotopaxi is privately held.