The outdoor apparel brand, which sued the Trump administration this month, is ramping up its environmental activism before the midterm elections.
By Kim Bhasin in the NYT (thanks to Pam Peterson)
Patagonia is offering customers a financial incentive to encourage friends and family to make a plan to vote in the midterm elections.
The outdoor apparel company announced it would give up to 112,000 customers a $100 discount on Patagonia merchandise if they enroll three people in a program to encourage registered voters to cast a ballot in the midterms. The initiative begins Saturday.
Support for the environment has been a core part of Patagonia’s brand for decades, yet the move is an extraordinary step in corporate activism. The company, based in Ventura, Calif., previously bought political ads, campaigned against the oil and gas industry and endorsed candidates who ran against lawmakers who rejected the scientific consensus on climate change.
Ryan Gellert, the chief executive of Patagonia, said he was concerned that many Americans had become disengaged with politics and environmental issues since President Trump returned to the White House last year. Company executives want to “get people off the sidelines,” he said.
“A lot of people are feeling a sense of hopelessness,” Mr. Gellert said in an interview. “We’re trying to cut through the apathy.”
The people Patagonia customers refer are sent to a third-party website where they can check their voter registration, and find out if they can vote early and whether they need to show identification at their polling site. They must then develop a plan to cast their ballot — by voting early, by mail or in person on Election Day.
Customers who made the referrals can choose to receive a $100 credit on their next order from Patagonia, or make a donation of the same amount to the League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group.
Patagonia said that its goal was to reach more than 300,000 people with its campaign and that it had committed up to $11.2 million to the initiative. The company reported nearly $1.5 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year. More than 60 percent of its sales come from customers in the United States.
Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, has been a staunch activist since he began selling rock-climbing equipment in the 1950s, and the company has pledged 1 percent of sales to environmental groups for more than 40 years.
“We’ve never seen a government attack on nature — on public lands, on biodiversity and in climate — like we’re seeing right now,” Mr. Gellert said. “The stakes are more acute than we’ve ever seen.”
Both political parties have poured money into campaigns across the country in the final midterm stretch, with Republicans holding the financial edge. Mr. Trump has also proposed sending a $5,000 check to every American adult if the Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.
Many corporations have been involved in voting-related programs, often aimed at their employees. Levi Strauss co-founded a nonpartisan coalition to encourage companies to give employees time off to vote. Airbnb started a civic action center to help citizens check their voter information. Live Nation has used its concert venues as polling places.
Patagonia has been at odds with Mr. Trump during both of his terms, primarily over the protection of public lands.
In July, Mr. Trump shrank the size of two national monuments in Utah to less than 10 percent of their former dimensions, citing “critical minerals,” such as silver, copper and zinc, within their boundaries. Mining companies were quick to pounce, with at least nine new claims staked on land that had lost its protections from development.
This month, Patagonia joined a conservation group and a Native American-led nonprofit organization to sue Mr. Trump in an effort to overturn his cuts to Bears Ears National Monument, one of the affected areas.
Patagonia worked with the Environmental Voter Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit, to figure out how to approach its midterm push. Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder, said his group’s focus was not to change people’s minds about green issues but to change their behavior so that they would make the effort to vote.
Once they have earned the $100 credit, participants in the program will also have the option to see key dates for the early voting period based on their address and can confirm they are registered to vote and update their information.
“We found a huge number of these already registered super environmentalists who did not vote in the last presidential election,” Mr. Stinnett said. “People want to be a part of big campaigns that the environmental movement is taking seriously.”
The usual selection of fleece jackets and soft-shell windbreakers has already been pushed from the top of Patagonia’s website. Instead, the online store reads: “Vote Big.”
Mr. Gellert announced the initiative during Climate Week NYC. The annual gathering, to promote climate action, is held alongside the United Nations General Assembly in New York.