Sign In
0Main content starts here
Outdoor Gientai
What is Outdoor Gientai?
Since 1975, Montbell has been a premier outdoor product maker rooted in the "Light & Fast" and "Function is Beauty" design philosophy. As we have grown, our focus has shifted from being not just an international brand that produces quality clothing and equipment, but to one that does so while giving back to the global community.
With this priority shift in mind, Montbell founder and CEO, Isamu Tatsuno, established Montbell's 7 missions of social and environmental responsibility. As a commitment to these missions, Tatsuno also created Outdoor Gientai, an organization dedicated to channeling the resources and know-how of the outdoor industry to assist in preparation and relief in times of disaster.
With this priority shift in mind, Montbell founder and CEO, Isamu Tatsuno, established Montbell's 7 missions of social and environmental responsibility. As a commitment to these missions, Tatsuno also created Outdoor Gientai, an organization dedicated to channeling the resources and know-how of the outdoor industry to assist in preparation and relief in times of disaster.
The Founding of Outdoor Gientai
In the immediate aftermath of the 1995 Kobe earthquake that claimed more than 6,000 lives, Montbell initiated a rapid mobilization of people, materials, and equipment to support those that were affected. However, the scope and magnitude of the earthquake's destruction was so great that CEO Tatsuno quickly realized that there was a limit to what one company could do. Driven to do more, he quickly committed to the formation of an independent and more comprehensive relief organization which called upon other companies within the outdoor industry to pool resources, in order to create a more effective assistance campaign. He dubbed this disaster relief effort "Outdoor Gientai", meaning "outdoor relief group" in Japanese. The response to Tatsuno's calls for unified mobilization in the Kobe region were swift, with donations and volunteers coming in from all over Japan and abroad. Outdoor Gientai's formation and actions were a success, proving that outdoor knowledge and experiences are applicable in times of disaster. Rather than disband the initiative after the clean-up and rebuilding activities were over, Tatsuno and others decided to preserve the organization. To this day, Outdoor Gientai continues to provide disaster relief in Japan and internationally, doing everything that it can with the resources available.
