by Tracy Strandness | Jan 7, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
Our eyes were searching the sandy beach, hyper focused on the grainy landscape looking for tiny bits of plastic. Normally our attention would be on the glistening waters of Puget Sound, but on this day we were more concerned with pieces of styrofoam, plastic straws,...
by Tracy Strandness | May 26, 2022 | News, Uncategorized
“For twenty-three years now I have gazed at Mt. Rainier when her mischievous modesty prompts her to show a bit of herself above the clouds, or bare all on a clear blue day. She is a true lady, but equipped with enough tricks to keep her voyeurs gazing. I have...
by Tracy Strandness | Mar 28, 2022 | News, Uncategorized
A couple of Septembers ago my daughter and I sat on a fallen tree that made a bridge across a local salmon stream. We settled there, legs dangling above the gently flowing water and watched mesmerized as an ancient ritual played out beneath our feet. Beautiful but...
by Tracy Strandness | Sep 21, 2021 | News, Uncategorized
“Responding to Dorothy’s eagerness or to the painter’s provocative questions, Sam talked of the earth perhaps in the beginning completely covered with forest, the destruction of man, then the barren stretches, famine, poverty where there ought to...
by Tracy Strandness | Jul 4, 2021 | News
Does your life have a soundtrack? I don’t mean, what is your favorite song, or what do you blare on the car radio when the weather is perfect, the windows are down and and you’re feeling euphoric (though those moments are too rare!). I guess I mean, do you...
by Tracy Strandness | Jun 30, 2021 | News, Uncategorized
As the ability to travel becomes more possible after a year of lockdowns and isolation, people are anxious to hop on planes and pack up their cars to scratch that wanderlust itch again. Although I’m a native Washingtonian, I was recently reminded that there are...
by Tracy Strandness | Sep 28, 2020 | News
When we first started Barefoot Eco Outfitters, we knew we wanted to use this business as a vehicle to support non-profit conservation organizations through donations (and we’re proud of our track record there), but we also knew that we wanted to be hands-on in...
by Tracy Strandness | Jun 22, 2020 | News, Uncategorized
Scrolling through my Instagram and Facebook feeds these past several months has left me agitated. Of course, there are a lot of things to be agitated about in the world right now, and I know I’m not alone in that emotion! But all the obvious things aside, what I...
by Tracy Strandness | Jan 15, 2020 | News
Wow, that was fast! Our third year in business is now behind us, and as we look ahead to a whole new decade, itโs good for us to reflect on the highs and lows of the past year, and everything weโve learned. I would be lying if I said it wasnโt emotional at times, that...
by Tracy Strandness | Sep 3, 2019 | News
For us, the single most frustrating aspect of striving to be eco-friendly, is that there is no right answer, no silver bullet, no pinnacle of perfection to seek after. Even the most well-meaning solutions, which on the surface appear to solve one problem, often create...
by Tracy Strandness | Aug 16, 2019 | News
We’re big believers in grassroots movements, the power of passionate people to create change! At the heart of our mission is the desire to give back through donations, partnerships, education and most powerfully for us, hands-on work. People have been asking us...
by Tracy Strandness | Jan 9, 2019 | News
There’s no question that the past two years have put us all at a crossroads. No matter which side of the issues you fall on, it has been an often wrenching time of wrestling with long-held beliefs, patterns of living, relationships, and hard truths that we...
by Tracy Strandness | Nov 16, 2018 | News, Uncategorized
The title of the event said it all: Curiosity Days! It was held at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle and featured a wide variety of science-related activities and displays meant to encourage interaction, exploration, and education. That day my daughter/business...
by Tracy Strandness | Nov 4, 2018 | News
This past July was an emotional time for Washington State and Canadian residents, and whale lovers around the world, as an orca named Tahlequah, (or J35) carried her calf which died soon after birth for an unprecedented 17 days. The anguish was palpable as the world...
by Tracy Strandness | May 10, 2018 | News, Uncategorized
I first heard about Ambreen Tariq, founder of @brownpeoplecamping, when she was being interviewed by a local talk radio station here in Seattle. I was captivated by her eloquence and her passion, and touched by her message. Her struggle resonated with me, and though...
by Tracy Strandness | Apr 16, 2018 | News, Uncategorized
Being earth friendly can take many forms. Obviously here at Barefoot Eco Outfitters we deal with eco-friendly apparel (and shipping products too when we fulfill orders!). I’m sure many of us do things every day to minimize environmental impact in our daily...
by Tracy Strandness | Mar 27, 2018 | News, Uncategorized
Why do you go to the wild places? Do you head to nature because you are brave and confident and seek to explore? Or do you go because you yearn to escape, and you seek courage. Are you a warrior who takes to the trails with wild abandon, or do you go quietly, perhaps...
by Tracy Strandness | Nov 29, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
A t-shirt is just a t-shirt, right? Or is it? We think not. The clothes we wear have a backstory, and often it’s a rather sordid past! It is supremely important to us that our apparel is not a blight on the environment – that it is both comfortable and...
by Tracy Strandness | Nov 14, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
Itโs hard to overstate the importance of nature. As much as we may try to separate ourselves from a connection with the natural world, life has a way of revealing our dependence on the flora and fauna, the vital oceans, the planets and stars. We fight so hard to tame...
by Tracy Strandness | Aug 11, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
Our tag line at Barefoot Eco Outfitters is, “Authentic Apparel with a Heart for Change,” but what does that mean exactly? What does it mean to be authentic, and why does it matter? When we started this venture, it was supremely important to us to be...
by Tracy Strandness | Jul 31, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
When I think back to when my kids were very young, and how I used to boldly pack them up by myself and head to the mountains for our “adventures” as we called them, I shudder just a little. Dang, I was brave! I’m proud of that person! If you know...
by Tracy Strandness | Mar 11, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
Wow! 2017 got off to an exciting start for Barefoot Eco Outfitters! In January all hands were on deck to prepare for a road trip from Seattle to Park City, UT for our presence at the EcoLuxe Celebrity Luxury Lounge during the Sundance Film Festival. We were...
by Tracy Strandness | Dec 20, 2016 | News
I must admit, the recent political developments in the United States have set me on edge. I realize now that there was a certain sense of things that I perhaps took for granted; I believed that as a nation we were, all things considered, on a forward trajectory. This...
by Tracy Strandness | Oct 13, 2016 | News, Uncategorized
There’s a popular quote by naturalist and environmental philosopher John Muir that says, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” What is it about mountains? I think it’s partly having the experience of being utterly small and insignificant...
