Most people know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but if you’re going to spend on any made-up shopping holiday, you might as well support one that matters. And that may mean doing some shopping on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, known as Women-Led Wednesday. It’s an annual initiative designed to get people to consciously shop with businesses owned or led by women. It became an organized effort in 2018 and was started by Cassie Abel, co-founder of Wild Rye, a women’s outdoor apparel company.
Photo: Wild Rye
11 Travel and Outdoor Brands to Support on Women-Led Wednesday
As of September 2024, women held 10.4 percent of CEO positions within Fortune 500 companies in the US, with just 52 women serving as chief executives. That’s basically unchanged from 2023, when there were 53 female leaders in the Fortune 500. It’s also a huge disparity when compared to the breakdown of the workforce in the US, as women make up 47 percent of the labor force. It’s a complicated answer as to why more women aren’t in senior and leadership roles, with multiple factors at play.
The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles is influenced by systemic barriers, cultural biases, and structural inequalities, to name just a few broad reasons. One significant factor is the “glass ceiling:” an invisible barrier that impedes women’s advancement to top executive positions. It’s a far more complicated issue than one article can touch on, but in short, it’s a men promoting and preferring peers they share interests and commonalities with (who tend to be other men), and an implicit societal bias that associates leadership qualities with men, but sees those same qualities as bossy or abrasive in women.
Carve Designs has been making lifestyle and outdoor clothing for women for more than 20 years. Photo: Carve Designs
Of course, that’s not the only factor. Women often take a few years out of the workforce to have children between roughly 25 and 35, meaning they’re missing out on career-advancing promotions during that time. They also return to the workforce with a few years less experience than their male peers because of that. Women also often bear a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities, which can limit their availability for roles that demand long hours. Doing a larger share of caregiving also means women often feel more significant impacts when workplaces don’t provide work-life balance policies, such as flexible schedules or solid parental leave policies. Those issues lead to a lack of mentorship and support, which means men continue to be given more leadership roles.
But the good news, at least when it comes to Women-Led Wednesday, is that the number of companies owned by women is growing, especially in the travel and outdoor industries. Rather than trying to work their way up in established companies, more and more women are starting their own companies from the ground up. In 2018, there were roughly 100 companies on the Women-Led Wednesday retailer list. Today, there are more than 800.
If you’re shopping around Thanksgiving this year, consider making a conscious decision to browse gear from brands owned by women before going to the usual box stores or buying from the same global brands. Here are 11 of Matador Network‘s favorite travel and outdoor brands owned or led by women, all of which are having serious sales on and around Women-Led Wednesday.
We hope you love the gear we recommend! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to make a purchase. Sale information is accurate as of the time of publication.
Kula Cloth
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For women who find themselves occasionally needing to pee outdoors, but don’t want to carry toilet paper or look for recognizable leaves, Kula Cloth is the answer. It’s a machine-washable, antibacterial cloth used when you have to pop a squat in the woods. There’s a funky design on one side to make it very clear which side you touch with your hand, and it snaps shut so the dirty part folds against itself when not in use. It also clips easily to backpacks (or anything else), so you don’t need to smush it in your bag with everything else. You can use it a few times in a row between washings, in case you’re doing a full-day hike. Kula Cloth was started by a former backpacking guide in Washington state and is named after Kula Khangri, the tallest mountain in Bhutan.
Sale info: Varies, starting at $14.95 (regularly $22)
Wild Rye
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Wild Rye started nearly a decade ago and was one of the first brands out there to make mountain bike clothing just for women. It was during a time when biking brands were almost exclusively for men, and if they were lucky, women would have maybe one or two available options. Wild Rye changed that when it launched in 2016, and now, it’s expanded into a full range of outdoor and general lifestyle clothing, still focused on women. Cassie Abel, Wild Rye’s founder, started Women-Led Wednesday — so the brand takes women’s leadership and advancement quite seriously.
Sale info: 25 percent off everything on WildRye.com, free shipping for order over $75. Runs Nov. 21-Dec. 2
Lo and Sons
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For luggage and travel bags that hit the sweet spot between stylish, high quality, and sustainable — not to mention affordable — take a peek at Lo and Sons. The brand was started by Helen Lo, a woman in her 60s (so it’s literally never too late to start a business if you have a great idea) who couldn’t find a bag she could carry without back pain. The brand makes very highly rated bags, has a huge selection of products made with vegan leather alternatives, and is continuously introducing new sustainability initiatives, like lines of bags made with up-cycled materials and fabrics. The Catalina Deluxe is probably its most popular bag, with a separate bottom shoe compartment reviewers seem to be obsessed with.
Sale info: Up to 70 percent off site-wide through Dec. 1
Carve Designs
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If you love the surfer, Cali-vibe lifestyle, whether or not you’ve ever touched a surfboard in your life, you may like Carve Designs. It was one of the first women-owned brands to put a focus on sustainable materials, and uses a majority of recycled and recyclable materials. It’s also one of a small (but growing) number of brands that uses women of various sizes and shapes in its marketing without calling attention to it — you know, almost like it’s normal for bodies to come in different sizes. Crazy, right?
Sale info: 75 percent off sale items, 30 percent off a select “Cyber Collection” (gear never marked down before).
SteamLine Luggage
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We dare you to find a luggage brand more stylish than SteamLine, which makes various bags that can’t be described as anything other than old-school glamorous. It was founded by a traveling mom in 2008 who wanted luggage that was both chic and high-quality. Think of your favorite trendy roller bag that’ll last forever, and combine it with the kind of bag Grace Kelly would have used, and boom — you have Steamline Luggage. Bags are definitely pricey, but designed to last a lifetime. Depending on the bag, it’ll be made with materials like sustainable or vegan leather, recycled bottles, or natural linen. It also offers a repair service, whether your bag is still under warranty or not.
Sale info: 30 percent off sitewide.
Skida
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Skida makes stylish, cute, and quality-made beanies and headwear, which may not in itself be super unique. But what is unique is the woman-owned brand’s commitment to being good business leaders. The company has a commitment to ensuring it’s always pushing to be “more inclusive and actively anti-racist in our local and national community.” It also produces everything on-site in Vermont (a state that knows a thing or two about keeping warm), and has a fiber waste rate of just one percent — meaning 99 percent of its materials end up in products, not on a factory floor.
Sale info: 25 percent off everything. Runs Nov.27-Dec.2.
trekALLa
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It’s 2024, and it’s common knowledge that athletes come in all shapes and sizes. Yet for some reason, most outdoor brands only seem to go up to a size XL for women — maybe an XXL, if you’re lucky. Enter trekALLa: a brand that caters to female athletes in sizes up to 6X. It ensures items are cut to fit curvier women, rather than rather scaling up straighter cuts designed for narrower bodies. It’s a fairly new brand, so right now, it makes just a few basic items. But if you’re looking for an inclusive brand for some outdoor basics, trekALLa could be a good fit (pun intended).
Sale info: 25 percent off leggings, half-off offers on hoodes, and more
Shredly and Curious Creatures
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Okay, just to avoid any confusion: Shredly and Curious Creatures are two unaffiliated companies. They’re probably competitors. But the gap they fill in the outdoor industry — bike clothing for women in a range of sizes — is so big that there’s plenty of room for multiple brands. Shredly has a wider range of gear, while Curious Creatures makes super fun, matchy-matchy bike kits so you can send it in style. This writer crushes winter rides in a pair of mud-stained Shredly Limitless Pants, and I’m itching to try a few pieces from Curious Creatures, too. Shredly goes up to a size 20, while Curious Creatures sizes up to women’s size 18.
Shredly sale info: Up to 70 percent off sitewide
Curious Creatures sale info: 25 percent off flash sale
Oboz
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Move over, big-name hiking shoe brands: Oboz is a serious contender for the best hiking boots around, and better still, it’s female-led. President Amy Beck worked at global brands like SmartWool and Cole Haan before taking the reins at Oboz, and now leads the company known for making footwear awarded by everyone from Outside Magazine to Gear Junkie. Oboz plants a tree for every pair sold, displays its sustainability and diversity initiatives for the world to see, and keeps shoe prices affordable — waterproof hiking boots are about $135 during the brand’s Women-Led Wednesday sales.
Sale info: 25 percent off sitewide
Kleen Kanteen
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Kleen Kanteen is a reusable drinkwear brand founded in 2004 and originally sold at music festivals across California as an alternative to plastic bottles. For the last 20 years, it’s been co-owned by Michelle Kalberer, who has expanded the brand into a wide range of travel drinkwear and food storage gear. It’s a 1% for the Planet company and a certified climate-neutral business, and makes about 95 percent of its products with recycled steel. It also offers budget-friendly replacement parts, rather than requiring users to buy a whole new item if something breaks or wears out. 
Sale info: 25 percent off sitewide