The HeatSmart Campaign is a new endeavor; it has only existed since 2005. But the company that launched the initiative, Northwest Woolen Mills, has been in business for over 65 years and is America's largest woolen blanket manufacturer. The company's focus is on providing high-quality, low-cost blankets for customers like the US Government and humanitarian organizations worldwide. Northwest Woolen's blankets have been shipped to help victims of disasters, from flooding in Somalia to Hurricane Katrina in the US.

The logistical skills Northwest Woolen needs to respond to crisis situations makes it ideally suited to work with government and non-profit partners to quickly develop energy efficiency programs involving the distribution of woolen blankets, and the low costs that the company provides for its government contracts are also available to partners in the HeatSmart Campaign.

Still, the HeatSmart Campaign represents something new and different for Northwest Woolen; for the first time, it is taking a pro-active approach to what could be, if energy prices spike, a crisis on a national scale. In addition to its current energy efficiency package, which centers on educational materials and blankets, the Campaign is investigating the possibility of working with other companies to offer additional tools, like weather-stripping and programmable thermostats.