At a Glance
Challenge
Canyonlands Natural History Association needed a way to promote proper hydration for visitors on public lands and spread awareness of their brand.
Solution
Create a customized line of sling and travel bag designs that encourage visitors to stay hydrated by utilizing larger reusable water bottles. The customized designs capture the picturesque beauty of Utah's natural landmarks.
Results
CNHA’s custom line of eco-friendly bottle slings and travel bags has helped thousands of visitors stay hydrated while enjoying nature. In addition, roughly 8,718,225 single-use items have been kept out of the world’s landfills & oceans through use of these bags.
The Client
Canyonlands Natural History Association
Canyonlands Natural History Association (CNHA) is a Utah-based 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on supporting the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management in southeastern Utah. Since 1967, the organization has used funds raised via memberships, private donations, and retail sales to help facilitate educational, interpretive, and scientific programs in the region.
CNHA operates retail stores at many of the state's most popular tourist locations, including Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and the Bears Ears National Monument. CNHA also staffs multiple visitor information centers. To date, CNHA has raised over $20 million for its public land partners via the sale of area books, guides, maps, and gift items.
The Challenge
Encouraging Adequate Hydration; Discouraging Plastic Waste
Most people recognize the importance of staying hydrated when exploring outside, particularly in the dry summer heat. Unfortunately, the first option for many is the quick and convenient purchase of a single-use plastic water bottle. Putting aside the environmental concerns, plastic water bottles often fall short when it comes to the park service's “stay hydrated” message—they just don’t hold enough water for long hikes.CNHA needed a solution that encouraged visitors to skip the small single-use bottles and bring larger, reusable bottles to carry enough water for their hikes. Visitors needed a way to carry enough water for their hikes but stay hands-free while hiking through the beautiful parks.
Another major challenge? Much of Canyonlands Natural History Association’s business is conducted within National Park visitor centers. This means that every product sold must be approved by the National Park Service. As such, they prefer partnerships with vendors who are resourceful, responsive, flexible, and able to quickly understand the needs of the organization, the National Park Service, and all park guests.
Results
Increasing Hydration with Eye-Catching Art and Design Ingenuity
11,000 bottle slings sold (and counting)
Throughout this 10+ year collaboration, ChicoBag’s products have helped visitors switch from disposable plastics to reusable water containers within southeastern Utah’s national parks. CNHA has been able to bring its unique design vision to life and generate considerable attention for the parks they serve. “Each ChicoBag product is unique—there’s nothing in our stores like it. ChicoBag was able to do sub-dye on their bottle slings, and that was a game-changer for us. We took this amazing artwork and they were able to put it on their bottle slings for us. Things just exploded. Our sales went through the roof!”
8,718,225 single-use items kept out of the world’s landfills & oceans
These bottle slings, travel bags, and utensils have done more than just help Canyonlands visitors get outside and stay healthy on their hikes; they’ve also supported CHNA’s sustainability goals. To date, this amazing collaboration has kept approximately 8,718,225 single-use items kept out of the world’s landfills & oceans.
Ready to put the swag in your bag?
Schedule a free consultation to discover how ChicoBag’s eco-friendly custom bag designs can help your business (and our planet) thrive.