The outdoor clothing company Patagonia is making a huge statement this Black Friday. Instead of trying to rake in the holiday dough for their own bottom line, the executives at Patagonia have decided to use this huge shopping day to raise awareness for the environment.
Patagonia has said it will donate 100 percent of the money it makes on Black Friday to environmental organizations around the globe. It doesn’t matter if customers buy goods from Patagonia online or in the store, all of the funds will instantly be sent off to honorable grassroots environmental groups.
Rose Marcario, the current CEO and president of the clothing company, told reporters, “during a difficult and divisive time, we felt it was important to go further and connect more of our customers, who love wild places, with those who are fighting tirelessly to protect them.” Later, Marcario went on to say that the environment is one issue that goes beyond political parties and identity politics.
In addition to donating the Black Friday sales to environmental groups, Patagonia will actively help their customers get in contact with local environmental organizations. Patagonia believes that the challenges of global warming and pollution won’t be solved simply by donations and well wishes. Everyone, Patagonia suggests, must play his/her part.
In the past, Patagonia has been very vocal about getting involved in politics, especially to change the status quo on environmental policies. Patagonia spent $1 million on a “Vote Our Planet” campaign during the 2016 election. This campaign was intended to make the environment and the candidates’ stances on the environment a top priority in voters’ minds. Patagonia even closed down all of its retail stores on Election Day to encourage people to vote.
Patagonia did not officially endorse any single candidate, it only said it stands with the candidate who more seriously deals with environmental issues. Of course, this has led many to believe that Patagonia supported Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Many environmental groups are now afraid that President-elect Donald Trump will erase much of the progressive work done on environmental issues in recent years. Many of these grassroots organizations have called Trump’s victory a “nightmare.”
In the past, Donald Trump said that global warming is all a “hoax” and he told supporters he would work hard to get the USA out of the Paris climate agreement, which President Obama signed earlier this year. In order to combat this, environmental groups are trying to raise awareness of climate change through various online initiatives.
Patagonia was founded by rock climbing enthusiast Yvon Chouinard in Ventura, California, in 1973. Patagonia currently has around 30 retail stores in the USA, including locations in California, Connecticut, New York, and Oregon.