National Red Mitten Day
Wearing red mittens as a symbol of unity behind Canada's sporting competitors — it's a colorful way to stand by your team.
Capitalize on Canadian national pride and Olympic spirit in November by promoting red mittens and winter apparel tied to patriotic team support.
- Show your true colors: red mitten styling guides for game day
- Behind every red mitten is a Canadian athlete—spotlight local sports heroes
- Limited-edition red mitten drops tied to upcoming Olympic/Winter Games schedules
- User-generated content: fans sharing their red mitten moments of team pride
It all began with the Hudson’s Bay Company, a Canadian retail business group that has been around since the 17th century as a fur trading company for the country of France. Although its history is extensive, its modern history involves its development and dive into general merchandise rather than fur trading. As it set up shops and acquired company locations all over Canada, its clothing retail investments started to increase. From there, the company became the official outfitters of clothing for Canada’s Olympic athletes throughout the past decade.
What does this have to do with red mittens? In 2010, HBC’s apparel for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver proved to be extremely successful. Their success in part was due to the fact that Canada was the host country for the Winter Olympics as well as their athletes had a record medal haul. One of their pieces of apparel was their “Red Mittens”, which were red and white mittens featuring a large maple leaf. Sold for $10 CAD, the mittens helped create a successful business for HBC and as a result, one-third of the proceeds went to the Canadian Olympic Committee. Since then, Red Mittens Day is a day that has helped celebrate the most pride for Canadian Olympic pride.