Patagonia has become a model outdoor industry brand, moving beyond just making apparel and gear to focus on sustainability and environmental initiatives, while inviting its customers to do their part to also make the world a better place. This week, the brand has continued its good work by launching Vote Our Planet, a major non-partisan environmental campaign that is urging Americans to vote up and down the ballot to elect officials and support referendums that will defend our planet’s air, water and soil, and protect the health and well-being of American families.
In the United States, only 60% of eligible citizens voted in the 2012 presidential election and of those voters, many only voted for president and left the rest of their ballot blank. Patagonia understands that it’s hard for the average citizen to be fully informed of all the choices and values represented on the ballot, which is why they have committed an estimated $1 million for the Vote Our Planet campaign. The campaign seeks to get people registered to vote, educate them about local and national issues, and inspire them to vote for environmental priorities up and down the ballot.
To do so, Patagonia will be hosting two in-store Vote Our Planet events at 29 of its retail stores nationwide, providing customers with voting guides that outline each region’s candidates and ballot measures. The campaign will also highlight 13 specific regional environmental issues, such as solar power initiatives, pollution regulations and the prevention of new pipelines, that voters will encounter in this year’s November election.
Check out which Patagonia stores will be hosting Vote Our Planet events below, and make sure to visit the Vote Our Planet page on Patagonia’s website where you can register to vote, sign up to receive local election information, and get voting updates and reminders via text or email.
Store Events, Issues to be Covered + Presenting Organizations:
- Freeport, Maine + Boston, Massachusetts: Make Solar Strong in the Northeast – Natural Resources Council Maine
- Reno, Nevada: Bring Back Solar to Nevada – Bring Back Solar
- New York City stores + Westport, Connecticut: Close Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant – Riverkeeper
- Salt Lake City, Utah: Breathe Clean in Utah – Heal Utah
- Portland, Oregon + Seattle, Washington: Stand up to Fossil Fuels – Stand Up to Oil
- California stores: Yes to the Plastic Bag Ban – Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay
- St. Paul, Minnesota + Chicago, Illinois: Shut Down the Line 5 Pipeline – FLOW, and Oil and Water Don’t Mix (a coalition of 68 organizations)
- Atlanta, Georgia: Toughen Georgia’s Pollution Regulations – Greenlaw
- Denver + Boulder, Colorado: Defend Colorado’s Rivers – Protect Our Winters
- Austin, Texas: No Trans-Pecos Pipeline – Big Bend Conservation Alliance
- Hawaii stores: Stop GMO Pesticide Testing – Hawaii Center for Food Safety
- Dillon, Montana: Fight the Public Lands Heist – Protect Our Public Land
- Washington, DC: Reject the Atlantic Coast Pipeline – Wild Virginia
Image courtesy of Patagonia.
xx Alex