Patagonia is launching an initiative to encourage voting in the
upcoming midterms.
“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,” according to The New
York Times. “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.
Patagonia is calling it the
11.2 Million Vote Project and the company is committing up to $11.2 million to help its community engage their friends and family to make a plan to vote. The program could reach 336,000 people
(112,000 participants contacting at least three others), according to the company.
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“The dollar amount (you get your money as a credit, not in cash) was inspired by a
startling fact: An estimated 11.2 million environmental voters—Americans who see the climate and environment as a top priority—don’t vote,” according to Fast Company. “An organization called the Environmental Voter
Project, which focuses on encouraging environmentalists to vote, calculated the 11.2 million number through detailed research on voters. There are multiple reasons why someone who cares about climate
and the environment might not be voting, says Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the nonprofit.”
Sign-up for the initiative begins Sept. 26 on
Patagonia’s site. After you enter the details for the three people you want to encourage to vote, the platform creates a voting plan based on their address, including information about where
they can vote, whether they can vote early or by mail, and whether they’ll need to show an ID.
Patagonia says the 11.2 Million Vote Project is nonpartisan. Participation is
open without regard to party affiliation, voting intention or location.
“Patagonia is not asking its customers to vote for particular candidates or a political
party,” according to GearJunkie. “However, it’s clearly hoping to increase
the number of U.S. voters who show up at the polls ready to support candidates who want to protect parks and public lands.”
The outdoor retailer joined a lawsuit in early
September against the Trump administration over its executive orders to shrink the sizes of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, according to The Hill.
Patagonia has been encouraging the community to
vote with the environment in mind since 1978, when it first placed an advertisement in a local Ventura newspaper to get out the vote. The company has offered time and resources to employees and
customers to vote for the environment since 2004, and it has closed its U.S. offices, stores and warehouse for every federal election since 2016.
In 2018, Patagonia co-founded
Time to Vote, a nonpartisan nationwide business-led movement to ensure workers don’t have to choose between earning a paycheck and voting.
Time to Vote now includes more than 2,000 companies.
Levi Strauss is also encouraging employees and customers to vote.
“LS&Co. and the Levi
Strauss Foundation are granting nearly $3 million to nonprofit organizations supporting voter participation, civic dialogue and access to trusted nonpartisan election information,” according to
a press release on the company’s website. “Through our partnership with HeadCount, employees, fans and community members can access trusted, nonpartisan voter information, check their
registration status and make a plan to vote.”