Patagonia Continues to Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
Patagonia has confirmed it will no longer sell merchandise to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming after one of the owners hosted a fundraiser featuring Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Trump supporters.
The Washington Post reports, Jay Kemmerer, a co-owner of the facility, co-hosted a fundraiser for the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), a bloc of conservative Congress members who have allied themselves closely with Trump.
Since then, the California-based clothing company has pulled out of three stores operated by the Wyoming resort, its largest single customer in the area.
“Those that know us in Jackson Hole are aware that we make business decisions and build relationships in alignment with our values and advocacy efforts,” Patagonia spokeswoman Corley Kenna said in a statement to The Post. "We join with the local community that is using its voice in protest. We will continue to use our business to advocate for policies to protect our planet, support thriving communities, and a strong democracy."
Patagonia made it clear that it disagreed with viewpoints expressed by many members of the HFC. For instance, the group expressed support for former President Trump's baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 American Presidential Election and Greene has been connected to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory.
Patagonia said that it would rescind its withdrawal if the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort doubled down on "protecting the planet."
This isn't the first time Patagonia has made a clear political statement. Back in 2020, the brand's "Vote the assholes out" tag went viral. While many automatically assumed the message was directed at the Trump administration, the company revealed that the statement applied to all politicians who deny or doubt climate change.
In fact, the brand has a long history of supporting environmental activism, going so far as to donate one percent of its sales to environmental nonprofits.