Bruce McIntyre of Macpac is a Man Before His Time

I was privileged to work with Bruce McIntyre, founder of Macpac Ltd., for a few years on the Board of Cactus Outdoor. Bruce is a man before his time – a visionary. At Macpac, he foresaw the era of mainstream outdoor discovery, built gear to last, gave his staff full financial information and never parked at the front door. Bruce is easy to like and easy to listen to.

One day he explained there are a few key institutions on earth. Profit, people and environment are the main ones. He said they all need to co-exist and neither can outweigh the other without negative consequences. It got me thinking how many businesses seek and find this balance.

Partly through my mutual involvement, Cactus Outdoor has joined the GreenHalo community. Their slogan of ‘Gear That Wears In, Not Out’ reveals some values held strong for 30 years. They design and manufacture hard wearing outdoor clothing and equipment; almost all of it in New Zealand. Long lasting = less consumption = better for the environment.

Cactus has never put profit before purpose and that’s caused some heated discussions at the Board table (well, bean bags actually). Eventually, we calm down in search of Bruce’s balance.

Ironically, Cactus has expanded to become New Zealand’s largest outsourced clothing manufacturer with the remaining big competitors heading offshore recently. NZ Police and New Zealand Defence Force now look to Cactus' manufacturing business (Albion Clothing (2019) Limited) for supply chain security.

And businesses would die for Cactus’ brand love. Our customers are unbelievable advocates and word of mouth is [luckily] our predominant marketing tool.

Thanks to Green Angels like Bruce McIntyre and Cactus Outdoor, you have wonderful examples to follow in search of your own business's balance. After selling Macpac, Bruce started a school from scratch. Last time we spoke, the students’ grades were off the charts, the stream through the school was regenerating and the school was in the black.

Chris Bailey

GreenHalo Founder

GreenHalo’s mission is to support and grow a community of Green Angels and we’re proud to acknowledge Cactus Outdoor and Bruce McIntyre.

Disclaimer: Chris is a shareholder and Chair of Cactus Outdoor and Albion Clothing (2019), which is Cactus’ manufacturing business.