Tomorrow is the launch day for Amazon 5000 – For The Cure.

Mickey Grossman, a cancer survivor, humanitarian and all around badass, will be attempting an unbelievable expedition that has never been accomplished before – a 5000 mile trek across the Amazon and the South American continent, all in the name of beating cancer once and for all.

On an expedition this grand, Mickey needed a way to keep his pack as light as possible and sleep comfortably along the way and a Trek Light Gear hammock was the obvious choice.

You can follow along with live video of the expedition launch tomorrow morning (5/19) at 10AM ET – Mickey will be starting the 5000 mile journey from the Pacific shores of Pedernales, Ecuador.

You can also track Mickey’s progress via an interactive map, and he will be posting updates and video whenever possible along the journey. Check the Amazon 5000 website often for  new info and you can also get important updates through their Facebook Page.

If you’d like to donate or fundraise for the cause and show your solidarity in the fight against cancer you can do so here.  As I write this nearly $20,000 has been raised already towards their goal of $100,000.

Cancer sucks and we’re thrilled to help Mickey get off the ground on this incredible mission – let’s show some Trek Light support and come together to support this worthy cause!

I just read about a photo contest that Mashable is running that’s perfect for Trek Light Hammock owners:

The contest is titled “How Do You Spend Your Lunch Break?” and they’re looking for submissions showing exactly that.  Over the years we’ve heard from so many of you who take their hammocks out on their lunch break to rejuvenate and de-stress in the middle of the day – this is your chance to snap a quick photo or share an old one with Mashable’s huge online audience.

There doesn’t appear to be a prize for the contest other than being featured on Mashable’s site (which is pretty cool in and of itself).  But, I’d be psyched if a Trek Light hammock photo was one of the winners so I’m willing to offer a $50 TLG Gift Certificate to anyone who gets their hammock photo featured as a winner. (Disclaimer: It’s not really clear how many ‘winners’ they’ll feature so I’ll draw the line at the first 3 to be featured on their website or Facebook page as a winner).

If you really want to be awesome, make a sign that says something about taking a ‘Trek Light Lunch Break’ or something to that effect! At the very least, include our name in your tweet (@TrekLightGear) so we can see it.

Go here to enter the contest and read all the details.  Photos must be submitted by Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00p EST.

I’m sitting here writing this to you on the morning of Earth Day 2012.    I’m on my back porch in Boulder, Colorado enjoying the morning sounds of Spring and noticing all the changes occurring around me – the grass is getting a little greener each day, the cherry blossoms have sprung and the clear view I get of the mountains from my yard when the trees are bare is slowly being filled in leaf by leaf.  The loss of my mountain view is a bit of a trade-off I have with Spring, but I see it as nature’s way of reminding me it’s time to stop looking at the mountains from my yard and time to enjoy them up close.
It’s fitting then that Earth Day was planned to fall at this time of year.   It’s not a single day to be celebrated and then forgotten until next year – it’s reminder to all of us to stop experiencing and interacting with our incredible planet from a distance and get just a little bit closer.

As many of you know, we currently plant a tree for every hammock we sell.  It’s not a special promotion or a one-day affair – it’s part of our company’s DNA and something we’ll continue doing as long as Trek Light Gear exists.

As a special nod to Earth Day this year, I’ve decided to up the ante a little bit – and from now through the end of April you can celebrate Earth Day with Trek Light Gear in the following ways:

• For every hammock purchased, we will plant TWO trees in an area that desperately needs reforestation
• Trees will also be planted for every Bug Net and Tarp sold through the end of April!
• Take 30% OFF our plastic bag banishing Eco Totes with coupon code EARTHDAY12

It’s time for me to step away from the computer and go get a little bit closer to those mountains.  I hope you’re enjoying a great weekend and celebrating Earth Day by appreciating this incredible planet we live on.  Keep it up!

As many of you who follow along with the blog know, it’s long been my mission to make charity and giving back a strong part of the DNA at Trek Light Gear.   Both online and offline you’ll often hear me talking about my belief in ‘business for a cause’ and how important it is to me that making a difference in the world is an integral part of why Trek Light Gear exists, not just a side effect of running a business.

On a personal level I’ve seen how a simple hammock can change people’s lives – it has the power help you relax, de-stress, get outside more, sleep better, connect with nature and improve your health and well-being.  Multiply that effect across thousands of people and you’ll see why I believe that hammocks can help change the world.

My goal when I started Trek Light Gear was to find a way to take that effect and magnify it.  In other words, in addition to the personal benefits of owning and using a hammock,  I wanted the actual act of purchasing a hammock to create a ripple effect of its own throughout the world. It’s not business for business sake, it’s business with a purpose – from start to finish the entire experience can have a positive effect with an exponential potential.

So, a few years back, I kicked off the Buy A Hammock, Plant A Tree program and blogged about it here.  Since the launch of that program we’ve helped to plant thousands of trees in areas around the U.S. that desperately need reforestation and the number of trees we’ve planted is growing every single day.

The program has been so successful and so important to me that in the past year I’ve been on a new mission to expand it so we can accomplish much more and help even more causes throughout the world.  Protecting our planet’s forestry is a cause that’s obviously near and dear to my heart, but there are so many other ways that I see Trek Light Gear being able to have an impact.

In a nutshell, I want to extend the ‘buy this, we donate this’ charity model in two ways: to cover more products in our line-up so it’s not just tied to our hammocks, and to connect our brand with more causes that cover not just environmental issues but humanitarian and social needs as well.

For example, every time a mosquito net is sold we’ll work with a malaria organization to provide a net to those desperately in need.  Buy a rain fly and we’ll work with a water organization to deliver clean water where it’s needed most.  It gives us the opportunity to literally save lives every time a product is sold – and I can’t think of something that makes me happier to be a business owner than that concept right there.

So, what’s the problem?

I’ve recently been reaching out to several organizations that I want to work with and I’ve run into a very similar story at many of them.  What I’m being told by many is that they can’t allow donations to be made that are tied directly to the sale of a product (and advertised that way).  

In other words, I can sell a product and donate money to them as a business. I can advertise the fact that my business makes regular donations to their charity and that by supporting my business you’re directly helping that charity.  But, if I include anything that specifically says ‘when you buy this product we’ll donate this’ there’s suddenly a problem.

What’s so interesting about the situation is that I’ve heard completely different reasons from just about every organization.   For example:

• We’d love to work with you, but if we allow you to donate to us via the sale of a product then we can’t say no to another company that wants to do it, even if we don’t approve of the company or the product they’re selling.  {Huh? I’m no expert, but aren’t non-profits allowed to accept or not accept donations from anyone they want and protect the use of their name and brand just as any other organization can?}
• There are tax and legal implications that make it risky.  {Me: So it’s against the law or violates a tax code? Them: No, not exactly, but it’s a grey area.}
• Sure we can do it, but only if you pay us a hefty licensing fee to use our name and logo on your website.

It’s been a frustrating process to say the least and it’s almost comical when you realize how many obstacles I’ve been running into trying to find someone willing to partner up and accept our donations.

Looking For A Solution

What’s most confusing to me in all of this is that I’m not seeing how what we’re trying to do is any different from what I’ve seen around me for years.  How many times have you seen the words “__% of the proceeds from every sale will benefit the __ foundation?”

How is that any different from me wanting to say “With every sale we’ll donate ____ to the ___ foundation”???

I’m becoming more and more convinced that I’m either somehow just not getting my point across when I speak to these organizations or that I’m just talking to groups that are too big and bureaucratic to get anything done that doesn’t fit their standard practice.

Which is why I’m writing this blog post.

I need help finding charitable organizations that we can partner with to make this happen.  I know they’re out there and hopefully this blog post will help us connect with the right ones.

Here’s the criteria of what I’m looking for:

1.) The organization must be comfortable with the one-for-one model I’ve discussed above.  There should be no objections to specifically stating on our website (and any other outlets) that the purchase of a particular product will lead to us making a donation through their organization.  No licensing fees should be required to mention the organization’s name on our site. I want to develop mutual and transparent partnerships, not a situation where I’m hesitant to say the organization’s name that we donate to.

2.) I’m specifically looking for a malaria and a clean water organization to begin with.  I’m looking for other causes too so any suggestion helps but those two causes are priorities for me because of their importance and natural fit with our product line.

3.) The organization must have a clear donation action.  In other words, $5 provides one malaria net or $5 provides clean water to one child for xx days. Transparency and measurability is extremely important to me, a good non-profit should be able to show you exactly where your donations went and how they were used.

It’s been an incredible feeling for me knowing that the Buy A Hammock, Plant A Tree  program has meant that the positive effect we’re having on the world is growing in an almost direct 1:1 ratio with the business itself.

It would be easy to avoid these headaches and just donate a portion of our sales to various charities at the end of the year.  That’s what most businesses do. But this one-for-one model speaks to me both as a business owner and a consumer and I can’t shake my conviction that it’s a better way to do things.   As a consumer, when I support a business that says it donates a portion of its proceeds to a good cause, I’m always left wondering how they define ‘proceeds’ and in most cases I’ll never know exactly what was donated or how that money got used.

I want Trek Light Gear to be a different example of how ‘business for a cause’ should be.  I want you to know exactly what’s happening when you make a purchase and I want you to use what you bought from Trek Light Gear and know every time you use it what we accomplished through this model.  We’re still a small business, but together we can have an incredible impact on the world and that can literally mean saving lives every single day.

Any help in finding the right organizations to partner with would be extremely appreciated, you can share any contact info below in the comments or you can send an email directly to me.

As always, thanks for reading and being part of this incredible community.

Love this simple advice for getting past your creative roadblocks.  Go out and start creating…

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Just came across this great story and had to share.  A New Zealand woman just won $1 million in her local lotto – and before she even had a chance to collect any money she went out and bought herself a new hammock.  Even more awesome, she already owned two hammocks so this was her third!

This is what a hammock feels like. Photo:Peter Drury/Waikato Times

“Also when I found out that I had the winning ticket, because the smallest amount you can win is $100,000, I went and bought a hammock. I already have two but I bought a hammock stand because I have always wanted one.”
- Lottery Winner Vicky

Congratulations Vicky! I imagine you’ll be doing some traveling once you collect your lotto prize – if you’d like to add a 4th hammock to your collection that you can travel anywhere with and enjoy hammock time anytime, let us know!

If you want to make someone you love feel like a lottery winner this holiday season, give them the gift of a hammock!  The Christmas shipping cutoff is tomorrow (Wednesday, December 21st) at 2PM MT – just get your order placed by then and it will be at your doorstep by Christmas without paying any express shipping charges.  Even if you miss the cutoff, you can always purchase a Trek Light Gear Gift Certificate and get it emailed to you (or the recipient) immediately!

About a week ago I noticed that REI was having a photo contest where they asked people to “submit a photo of yourself wearing or using your favorite outdoor brand(s)”.  As soon as I saw it I knew that some of the incredible hammock photos you’ve all submitted would be perfect for the contest so I posted about it on Facebook and Twitter and encouraged you to submit some of your Trek Light Gear photos to the contest.

Trek Light Gear friend and fan Jennifer Akullian heeded the call and submitted one of the many amazing shots she’s taken with her Trek Light hammock.  I’m thrilled to share with you that Jennifer’s photo was picked as the winner in the photo contest and as a result she’s walking away with a $500 REI Gift Card!!!

Check out the incredible photo that won the contest:

Life is ALWAYS better in a hammock!

Congratulations Jen and thanks for taking such an awesome photo!

Here’s even better news – it looks like REI is running the exact same contest again right now so if an $500 REI Gift Card sounds awesome to you please submit any of your great Trek Light Gear photos to the contest.  I just submitted a photo myself so whether you’re submitting a photo or not please go ahead and vote for our photo by clicking here or on the photo below!

Cast Your Vote!

REI is high on the list of retailers that we’d love to have carrying Trek Light Gear products so anything we do to get their attention and show them how much people love their Trek Light Gear is going to help make that a reality!

The current contest ends tomorrow (December 9th) so please cast your vote and submit your photos before then.  If they start the contest over again next week we’ll definitely update you.  If you do submit your photo make sure you let us know and we’ll post a link to your photo on our Facebook page so people can vote for it!

UPDATE: The contest did start over again this week (December 12th – 16th) so go ahead and start submitting any great photos you have.  We re-submitted our photo again so if you’d like to take a second to vote for it, click here.

We’re thrilled to be included in Canoe & Kayak Magazine’s 2011 Gift Guide that was just released!

Here’s what they had to say:

“Planning on escaping for a paddling trip to warmer climes this winter?

When you’re ready to stretch out and relax on that rocky riverside or cobbled ocean beach, deploy the 1-pound Trek Light Single Hammock. Triple-stitched in fast-drying parachute nylon, the Trek Light holds up to 400 pounds and folds down to the size of a water bottle. Rain, bugs, bad with knots? No need to sleep in the dirt. Add the V-9 Hammock Tarp ($70), Bug Free Hammock Shield ($70), or the Rope and Carabiner Bundle ($26) to your hammock kit. ($65, treklightgear.com)”

Canoe & Kayak Magazine has been the world’s leading paddling magazine since 1973 and we’re extremely honored to be included in their gift guide this year.  Make sure you check them out on Facebook and Twitter for everything under the sun (and water) in the world of paddling.

We’ve been incredibly happy to see a number of other great gift guides include Trek Light Gear on their list this year as well:

The incredibly popular travel site Cheapflights.com just named us one of the Top 10 Travel Gifts and on the local level the Vail Daily called us one of the 10 Best Colorado Gifts!

It’s a great sign that word is spreading about our incredible products and as small business that’s exactly what we need to continue doing what we do!  If you love Trek Light Gear, don’t forget to let your friends know about us and help them out with their holiday shopping this year.  A lot of people get frustrated looking for a great gift idea and you can easily help your friends and help us at the same time!

A huge Trek Light Gear thank you to everyone who has given our products as gifts, featured us in their blog or gift guide and to all of you who continue to help spread the word!

I blogged earlier today about Muppets, wizards and aliens all finding comfort sleeping in hammocks.  But what about us?

David over at the Almost Bohemian blog recently wrote about the Seven Benefits of Sleeping In A Hammock and it shares a lot in common with many of the benefits we’ve discussed on this blog.

1. Faster Sleep
2. Zero-Pressure Points
3. Deeper Sleep
4. No More Bed Making
5. Hammocks Are Good For Your Health
6. Comfort
7. Making Love In A Hammock

David goes into some good detail on each of the seven points (even linking back to our Sleeping In A Hammock guide for more info – thanks!), so make sure you read his full post but I’ve included each of the talking points to the right.

We’re learning more and more every day that sleeping in a hammock is good for you and I encourage you to read the full post on the Almost Bohemian blog for even more insight on what makes sleeping in a hammock one of the healthiest and best ways to get your Zzzzz’s!

Trek Light Gear - The Only Way To Sleep!

If you’re ready to give sleeping in a hammock a try, click here to get the hammock that’s helped people all around the world get the best night sleep of their lives!

What are your favorite benefits to sleeping in a hammock?  If you’ve got more to add to the list, share them in the comments!

Over the Thanksgiving break I took a trip to the movie theater to see the new Muppets movie with my niece and nephew.  It was brilliant, funny, touching and everything a Muppet movie should be.  But that’s not why I’m posting about it here – it’s the hammocks that caught my attention.

Hammocks were featured in the movie not once but twice that I recall.  The first was early on in the movie when Kermit was rounding up the old gang, they pay a visit to Rowlf’s house and find him peacefully relaxed on his hammock:

Rowlf Knows How To Relax

“Cool, I’ll have to post something about that on Facebook” the social media voice in my head thought.  But I had no idea what I was in for later on in the movie.

About halfway through, there’s a part in the movie where the Muppets have been working hard to restore their old theater to get ready for their big show.  After lots of singing and dancing and cleaning we’re shown a scene where all the Muppets are sleeping peacefully – and they’re all in hammocks!

Unfortunately I can’t find an image of the scene from the movie to share with you so you’ll just have to see it for yourself if you haven’t already (if anyone comes across an image of the scene let me know so I can post it).

As the owner of a hammock company I’ll always notice now when hammocks appear in movies, TV and pop culture.  They’re almost always used as a symbol of relaxation (and often laziness) and have also been used in comedy bits everywhere from The Simpsons to Family Guy.  But as you all know, I’m a big proponent of encouraging people to sleep in hammocks whether while camping, traveling or full-time at home.  And even though there are millions of people around the world who sleep in a hammock as a full-time bed, it’s almost always only the backyard, lazy image of a hammock that we see in American pop culture.

But, even though it’s rare to see, The Muppets isn’t the only recent movie to feature a scene with all of its stars sleeping in hammocks. In fact, the other two movies that have recently featured a large group of people sleeping in hammocks have been two of the biggest movies you can imagine: Avatar, in which we saw that the entire Na’vi alien race sleeps in hammocks, and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, where we’re treated to a scene in the castle with floating hammocks everywhere.  (By the way, if anyone from Hollywood is reading this, drop me a line so we can talk about some incredible branded marketing opportunities – what kid wouldn’t want a Muppet or Avatar Hammock for their room?)

Is this the start of a new trend in Hollywood? Is it a sign that the idea of a hammock as a bed is finally starting to catch on a bit more in the U.S.?    It’s interesting to note that all of these scenes are in films that rely on fantasy. It’s as if the message is that if we had our way – whether in the future, with magic or if we lived the life of a Muppet – we’d all live the dream and sleep in hammocks.  Based on search traffic alone, our How To Sleep in A Hammock guide is easily the most popular blog post I’ve ever written with the traffic increasing significantly every day. Hopefully it won’t be long before we see a movie that doesn’t rely on fantasy which features people camping with hammocks instead of tents or sleeping in hammocks at home.  After all, living the hammock lifestyle may be a dream, but it’s one you can start living right now.

Now, go see The Muppets, it was great!