Pow shots are cool. V16 is rad. Fog swirling around an artfully draped blanket is neat too. Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful. But do you know what is not cool, rad, neat or beautiful? Our public lands being taken away from us, from you.
It’s time to take a public stand. I know that some of you may have signed OIA’s open letter. Maybe you are working behind the scenes. But what’s next? It’s time to show the public that you care.
I get this is a touchy subject to approach. Your bottom line depends on it either way. Without land, you don’t have recreation. Without recreation, there are no customers. It is not the time to “stay out of politics”, because politics are everywhere.
If you don’t take a stand now, when will you? If you’re waiting for someone else to stand up first, who is going to?
People are listening and people are watching.
- If your athletes are activists, highlight their work and their words. It’s not coming directly from you, but it’s a subtle nod of support.
- Along those lines, share the work of the non-profits you support. Tell your followers to back them too!
- If you love national parks—I mean, come on, who doesn’t love our national parks—talk about how much you love and want to protect them.
- Climate change is real, accelerated rapidly by anthropogenic activity. Oceans are warming. Cold weather clothing sales are declining. Sharing photos of glaciers back then and now… they’re just pretty pictures, and pretty facts. Or better yet, support your athletes telling stories about receding glaciers.
- We all need clean water to drink. But let’s pretend that’s accessible for all. Kayaking, SUPing, fishing, deep water soloing… nobody’s going to get into polluted water. Hint at protecting streams, because we’re all falling into it.
- If we can’t breathe, we can’t play. Clean air is not an alternative fact. Share photos that focus on inversions and smog, but comment on the beautiful scenery around it. Let the photo do the talking. Let’s face it, pollution never makes for truly pretty ‘grams anyway.
I’ve compiled a Twitter list of brands who’ve spoken up or are doing general good here.
Thank you to the companies who have thrown their voices into the mix and shared photos, tweets and content, even if it was just one post. I’d like to highlight them below.
Why Outdoor Retailer should leave Utah by Black Diamond founder, Peter Metcalf
Join Outdoor Research to stop drilling in national parks
Johnie Gall on defending fun for Oru Kayak
The outdoor industry loves Utah, but does Utah love the outdoor industry, ponders Patagonia
Join us and @Wilderness in taking action to protect 3.3 million acres of public lands from being ‘disposed of’: https://t.co/OANXlUvVVq pic.twitter.com/gkZBT0W0k9
— Osprey Packs (@OspreyPacks) January 31, 2017
Know of a brand that I missed? Let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email, and I’ll get them on the post and Twitter list. Please note that these lists are in no way exhaustive or all encompassing and at the time of writing, it is 1:33AM and I cannot comb through anymore social media accounts.
PS – If your focus is on doing good around the globe through manufacturing, providing renewable energy, clean water, etc., thank you for your work. Keep on fighting.
Edited 2/2/2017 9:55AM to add Oru Kayak, Patagonia, and support for non-profits.
All of the Conservation Alliance companies are great. I work for a grassroots environmental nonprofit and Filson sponsors us for a CA grant. Also no list of social-good outdoor companies would be complete without Patagonia. Patagonia has helped us continue to do our work even though we are often involved in lawsuits against the County, State and developers who do not comply with environmental regulations.
Duh! How did I forget to link to Patagonia. That has been rectified. I’ll check out the list of Conservation Alliance companies and Filson. Thank you!