Patagonia boycotts Outdoor Retailer show in support of Bears Ears...

I wonder if others will do the same?

gearjunkie.com/patagonia-wi…

This is pretty interesting.. I feel like it's a pretty big deal for Patagonia to pull out like this... That's a massive outdoor show.

I love this, any company who stands by their mission should do the same

They are so brilliant at posturing to make their brand just cooler and cooler in our minds... I mean, this is cool and everything, it really is... It's got heart. But honestly in the end it's brilliant marketing.

You're wrong Russ. Patagonia has ALWAYS stood behind what they believe in. But you can speculate about things you know nothing about more if you'd like.

Russ Keane wrote:They are so brilliant at posturing to make their brand just cooler and cooler in our minds... I mean, this is cool and everything, it really is... It's got heart. But honestly in the end it's brilliant marketing.

No doubt it helps them fight their "big industry" stigma...

"But you can speculate about things you know nothing about more if you'd like."

Bwah! Sensitive much? I agree they stand by their principles. What I am saying is also true. They are both true at the same time. Come on, you think there's nothing self-serving about their branding strategy? Things like the "Don't buy this jacket" campaign are very clever. They are really honing in on their target market quite effectively. And yes, they are also zealous about protecting Nature.

Russ Keane wrote:"But you can speculate about things you know nothing about more if you'd like." Bwah! Sensitive much? I agree they stand by their principles. What I am saying is also true. They are both true at the same time. Come on, you think there's nothing self-serving about their branding strategy? Things like the "Don't buy this jacket" campaign are very clever. They are really honing in on their target market quite effectively. And yes, they are also zealous about protecting Nature.

So what you're saying is that Pata. has managed the difficult trick of being a really, truly "green" corporation and making it benefit their business results at the same time. That's a marvelous thing.

On a related note - I have a spare copy (hard cover, no dust jacket) of Chouinard's "Let My People Go Surfing" book. Free (ish) to the first person to Paypal me $8 to cover packaging and shipping.

TEH BOOK IS SPOKEN FOR. Morgan P. gets it.

We'll see if any other company follows their lead. Let's hope so.

My belief - naive? I'm honestly not sure - is that since they're not a public company, black ink is one of several competing goals that run through the company's veins. Rather than holding themselves to a board and shareholders that demand complete strategical focus on growth and profit, they hold themselves to:

• Their core values (environmentalism, transparency,
• Their employees
• Their customers
• Their bottomline

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

I can't think of another company whose mission statement I can read without wanting to kick in a door. Acts like this OR boycott make me think this one could be the real deal.

Naive? Did I drink the kool-aid?

For what its worth, Patagonia was promoting the Bears Ears National Monument designation before Obama made the declaration. There were a few pages in some of their print catalogs talking about why Bears Ears is special, and as well as links from some of their marketing emails.

Personally, I believe Patagonia earnestly tries to align environmental causes with their business goals. As long as they are able to make money, they're willing to spend some of that profit on social causes. So it makes sense that because Utah politicians are now trying to unmake Bears Ears National Monument, they're going to put their money where their mouth is, and are walking away from the big Utah trade show.

I say more power to them (Patagonia). I'd rather buy from a firm that makes some effort to be socially responsible than one that cares 100% only about profits. And Patagonia makes some good gear, too.

Patagonia is true to their stances. The headquarters are just down the road from me and it is very easy to see the good they do. From large donations to great causes to starting ethnical business practices that have come to effect state law. They aren't perfect though it tugs at me a bit to see their ambassadors preach about impact then post videos of themselves basically jet set driving gas guzzling unimogs in Russia to surf mediocre waves in ice. That said I'm sure I would have a hard time passing up a trip like that. I think the thing is as humans we are all hypocrites but we also have emotion and concern and these guys show quite a bit more heart and human than any other Corp out there.

I am more likely to buy things from an organization that throws its weight around to protect things I love than ones who don't.
Good on patagonias core value structure, or good on their marketing team for understanding the driving motivation of their consumers. At the end of the day I couldn't care less about their motivations, this isn't some abstract moral riddle and actions speak louder than words.
We could get a petition going asking other companies to tow this line. If a few more dropped out this could make some waves.

yeah this is great. hopefully black diamond follows suit. with their big presence in SLC, that would be sure to stir the pot.

now i feel bad that i dont own any patagonia gear.

Russ Keane wrote:They are so brilliant at posturing to make their brand just cooler and cooler in our minds... I mean, this is cool and everything, it really is... It's got heart. But honestly in the end it's brilliant marketing.

Yawn. I disagree with you, but more importantly, their "posturing" IS their marketing, as seen by their brilliant "don't buy this jacket" ad campaign from a few years ago.

It doesn't matter if they truly believe in minimizing consumption and being environmentally responsible, or if they just do it for sales. Either way it's working for them.

More broadly, given the current socio-political tumult in this nation, a LOT of companies are realizing that it's good business to adopt public stances that are in opposition to certain policies by the ruling political party.

it reminds me a lot of the REI optoutside, with a bit more politics to it. they take a stand for something that is important to their customers, it doesnt really cost them much and they get a ton of marketing for it.

maybe they should start a #optoutofoutdoorretailershow

not knocking them at all

Yall just love this because it makes you feel warm and tingly inside to hear sensational news. You dont love it because "they are standing by their mission". Do you really think that skipping the outdoor show makes any difference at all? Donald Trump is standing by his mission and yall can not stand that. He is doing exactly what he said he was going to do and people are acting so surprised. This is just a big publicity stunt in my opinion.

Here is a petition to encourage other outdoor goods manufacturers to follow suite, if it gets enough signatures we can present it to BD TNF etc.
secure.avaaz.org/en/petitio…

This is not going to be effective and it only hurts the OR show.

The problem is extraction industries buy Republican politicians. Until the outdoor industry starts bribing them as well they will be ignored.

Nice to see them taking some real actions...

Do you really think that Utah's politicians even care that they pulled out of the show? Do you think they'll even find out about it?

If the OR show was run by Utah's governor, yeah it'd be worth pulling out in protest. But this won't do anything. Republicans aren't swayed by protests, Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary is a prime example. They couldn't give two shits about Patagonia.

King Tut wrote:This is not going to be effective and it only hurts the OR show. The problem is extraction industries buy Republican politicians. Until the outdoor industry starts bribing them as well they will be ignored.

The show generates about $20 millions in direct spending (see here)
Sure it's nothing when compared to profits generated by the extraction industry but a net loss of $20 mils is hurting more than just the OR show.
Too bad it isn't directly hurting any member of the team of shitheads UT sends to DC.