Oboz Footwear has become the 186th member of the Conservation Alliance, a group of companies in the outdoor industry that work to protect the environment. Oboz will now be able to help select recipients for the Conservation Alliance's grants – the group gave out $1.3 million last year to organizations that work at the grass-roots level on environmental protection. Twenty-five grant proposals are currently up for a vote for grants for the winter 2013 funding cycle, narrowed down from 70 applications. The Conservation Alliance plans to distribute $1.5 million this year. Other activities Oboz is involved in include planting one tree for every pair of footwear it sells through Trees for the Future; offsetting its energy use through Native Energy; and donating any remotely usable footwear – samples, returns, single shoes – to organizations that provide footwear for those who need it.