Sustainability Sponsors
Aligning with Like-Minded Organizations
At the Big Sur Marathon Foundation, we pride ourselves on working with organizations that share our passion for sustainability. From on-course nutrition to official apparel, we seek out brands that operate under strict sustainability guidelines and support green initiatives. Two sponsors in particular – GU Energy Labs and Recover Brands – are hailed as leading innovators for sustainability within their industries. Since 2018, we’ve worked with Recover Brands to produce 100% recycled apparel. In just a short time, the growing sponsorship has drastically reduced our measurable footprint.
The Recover Brands Model: 8 Bottles = 1 Shirt
Recover Brands was founded in 2010 with the mission to help Earth Recover by outfitting everyone with apparel and gear for the biggest positive impact possible. Using certified 100% recycled materials and 100% organic cotton, produced within a HyperLocal™ chain, Recover creates truly sustainable custom gear, like the BSIM participant shirts. Recover can also take back every product they make and reintegrate it into their supply chain through their 360° Closed Loop program- a circular apparel recycling initiative.
Since its founding, Recover has saved 1.45 billion gallons of water, 1,413,376 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions, 2,810,031 kWh of fossil fuel-based energy, and diverted 2,360,544 plastic water bottles from landfills.
When you purchase a Recover Brands apparel item during registration or at the Health & Fitness Expo, you can feel good about your purchase knowing you’ll be sporting 100% recycled gear around town! For more information on Recover Brands and their mission, visit recoverbrands.com.
Stash Your Trash with GU Energy Labs
Let’s face it: It’s a real bummer when you see used gel wrappers littering the race course or your local recreation trail. That’s why GU Energy Labs, our Official Gel Sponsor, works with TerraCycle to encourage all athletes to stash their trash. The TerraCycle program offers endurance sports athletes a simple, no-cost way to recycle hard-to-recycle nutrition packaging and reduce their impact on the beautiful places they play. Not only can you upcycle your nutrition wrappers by mail any time of year, but you can also recycle them in person at the Green Team booth at our Health & Fitness Expo!
To participate in the program:
- Join the program at terracycle.com
- Collect approved performance nutrition packaging and fill up a box or bag. Your shipments must weigh over 2 lbs to receive the TerraCycle point donation.
- Download a free shipping label from your TerraCycle account. Click “Get Shipping Label” under the “Send Your Waste” option in the navigation bar at the top of this page.
- Ship the box to TerraCycle by affixing the free shipping label and dropping it off at a UPS location.
As a certified California Green Business, GU Energy Labs has spearheaded many sustainability initiatives such as purchasing post-consumer recycled paper, minimizing water use and using non-toxic cleaning products in the office. To date, GU Energy Labs has reduced its water usage by twenty percent and offsets over 95% of their energy usage with solar power. To learn more, visit guenergy.com.
