Last fall, Spencer Cox, Utah’s governor, released a video practically begging Outdoor Retailer, by far the biggest industry trade show, to return to Salt Lake City. You may remember, OR left SLC a few years ago in response to Utah’s support for the shrinking of national monuments in the state. Now that the Biden administration has returned those national monuments to their size before the Trump administration rolled them back in 2017, many wondered if OR would return to SLC.
Currently, OR is held in Denver, but Emerald Expositions, the company that owns OR, is deciding where to host the event once the Denver contract runs out in 2022.
SLC is on that list.
A much bigger list, however, is the outdoor brands that have warned they will not attend OR in Utah because the state is preparing to sue the federal government to once again roll back federal protection of public lands.
Represented by the Conservation Alliance, at least two dozen brands have indicated that if OR returns to Salt Lake, they won’t be part of it. Big brands. The heavy hitters are REI, Patagonia, and the North Face, but the list is a who’s who in the outdoor industry. Brands such as NEMO, Keen, Oboz, Smartwool, Therm-A-Rest, and many others have signed on to express they’ll boycott a Utah-based OR as long as the state’s lawsuit against the feds is in play.
From Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert:
“For decades, Patagonia has worked in solidarity with Indigenous communities, local activists, outdoor athletes, and businesses in Utah. We love the state and its spectacular cultural and natural landscapes. We were thrilled when President Biden restored the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante…and we will oppose any effort to undermine their protection. Our position on the location of the Outdoor Retailer trade show remains clear and unchanged. The show belongs in a state whose top officials value and seek to protect public lands.”
If you’re not in the outdoor industry, it may seem of little importance where its biggest trade show occurs. But it’s a look at which companies are serious about protection for public lands and recognize the importance to their business model that there are plenty of places for people to recreate outdoors.
Photo: Patrick Hendry
A simple internet search for REI, Patagonia, and North Face stores in Utah seem to show that the retailers are not so serious about the issue that they have pulled their stores or products out of Utah. They need to speak a little louder so they can be heard over the ring of the Utah cash registers. Instead of boycotting a trade show, they’d be better served by using their high standing in the industry to work a lobbying and advertising campaign to advance the protections for the natural wonders of Utah. I love their products, but their position on this subject is like iceberg lettuce – it lacks “nutrition”.
Patagonia has produced films about Bears Ears, but your point about selling stuff there is well taken.
You can’t spell hypocrite without REI.
Please don’t hurt the little guys (i.e., the gear shops), the ones who spread the good word of conservation and healthy practices in the outdoors. I agree with the idea of increased lobbying efforts and advertising, but a balance of information and a presence on the street needs to be maintained so folks in Utah’s ever-growing tourist and outdoor economy can point to their model in the face of the extraction industry. Maintaining ones’ distance with trade shows puts a big enough dent in their city’s coffers and makes civic leaders think twice over their votes, but please keep the blood supply flowing to those in Utah who live and breathe its wonderful outdoors.
Patagonia has donated over 140 Million dollars to environmental causes since 1985. I’d say there is plenty of nutrition in their “salad”. I’m not saying any company is perfect, but they are about 140 million dollars ahead of say Polaris, or VF Corp, and many others. Isn’t asking the Outdoor Retailer group to reconsider where they have their show a type of lobbying? Do you think there is enough money in the world to get Sen. Mike Lee to focus on recreation over extraction?
@Jim – I have no issues with anyone recommending one location over another for any reason; I applaud that they [Patagonia] reportedly give 1% of their net revenues to environmental nonprofits; and good on them for raising awareness for a nuanced issue (for which I did not advocate a position). That said, I do find the threat of boycotting a trade show in a state where they otherwise do regular business to be hollow at best.
Well played, Mike C. Especially your coda.
I would also strongly suggest an OR/Utah type ban for Idaho and Montana, given those states bloodlust for wolves.
Friends of The Earth reports 800 killed this year alone; believe 80 outside, or adjacent to Yellowstone.
think the retailers are doing the right thing.
They don’t need to close thier retail outlets to send the message.
The trouble with some protests is they go too far
and lose credibility.
Why penalize the good people of Utah?
I would bet most of those who shop are also making their voices heard. It’s a fine line! Those who support your cause should not be penalized
Support those retailers and let the government know your opinion on the issue.
The government survives and exists by your vote!! They will change when it appears their butts may be kicked to the curb.
Pulling their stores out of Utah would put a lot of people out of work. It would affect so many people who like to purchase their products from a physical store. The lobbying and advertising campaign is a great idea.
As a resident of Utah, I am having a hard time understanding how the federal government handles our lands better than we who live in this state? As a state with one the highest amount of federally owned land, we are entitled to have a say as to what needs to go on. I assure you that many of us “locals” care more about our land than entitled government officials and cronyism that exists at the highest level of the corporate structure with so called elected officials. Pull the stores and their sales out of Utah if they are serious. The hypocrisy is maddening. And Patagonia acted just like a 3 year old on the phone with Governor Herbert when he called to have a discussion.
hi Dan, from what I’ve read, the state of Utah is inexorably wedded to practices that do not promote sustainable use of public lands, including (over) grazing interests and little environmental oversight of the oil and gas industry. Given the lawsuit described in the article and their ongoing political agenda, I don’t trust the state of Utah to manage public lands sustainably and therefore personally agree with the proposed boycott. To clarify, I am not saying the federal government is doing a better job. I would love to see Utah emerge as a leading steward of public lands and I think that will require substantial changes in state leadership.
Dan of Utah says that those in Utah “are entitled to have a say as to what needs to go on.”
And indeed they do! All citizens of the US, including those of Utah, are entitled to and in fact DO have a say in federal land decisions across the US: Dan of Ohio has a say in Utah federal lands, Dan of Utah has a say in Ohio federal lands. I have written comments concerning both USFS decisions in Ohio and BLM decisions in Utah. Dan of Utah is welcome to write comments as well.
But that’s not what Utah Governor Spencer Cox wants. Cox doesn’t want all US citizens to have a say in management of Utah federal lands. Cox doesn’t even want all Utah citizens to have a say in management of Utah federal lands. Cox wants himself, personally, to dictate to the owners (the US citizens) how the federal lands are to be managed.
Governor Cox is the ultimate anti-property-rights activist.
Dan of Ohio, I appreciate your comment, and I am completely incapable of positioning myself on all things federally mandated or federally regulated. But what I do know, is I live here, and the way our lands are controlled and monopolized is outrageous. I cannot stand that the public school district owns 10s of thousands of acres and do whatever they please.
This view point would hopefully give perspective as to why I feel the way I do,
The federal government owns 1.14 percent of Ohio’s total land, 298,500 acres out of 26,222,080 total acres. Ohio ranked 41st in the nation in federal land ownership. https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_land_policy_in_Ohio
Like many other western states, land ownership in Utah is characterized by a high level of federally controlled land intermingled with state and privately-owned lands. Of Utah’s 52.7 million acres, federal agencies manage 63 percent or 33.2 million acres.
-https://rmp.utah.gov/economics/
As a Utah resident as well, the State and counties already have outsized influence over public lands management, which results in the prioritization of motorized recreation over all other land values, opposition to administrative and legislative conservation efforts, unsustainable and subsidized grazing, and oil and gas leasing giveaways. And if they don’t get their way, it’s only a quick phone call to the Utah congressional delegation. Federal land managers aren’t perfect, are often incompetent, and are certainly under resourced, but they are at least viewing land management through the lens of public lands held in trust for the benefit of all Americans. Thankfully their worldview is bigger than the pro-development/anti-conservation interests of the patriarchal Utah legislature, who have never seen value in undisturbed public lands and have no interest in hearing from constituents who feel otherwise.
Well said.
As if trying to prove everyone’s point about how bad Utah leaders are on public lands, here’s our impotent man-child governor trying to impress his friends at the legislature with some tough talk today:
“That sort of boycott will do absolutely nothing to change any policy that’s happening here in the state of Utah,” Cox said. “Not even an inch. We won’t give it another thought.”
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/2/17/22939436/outdoor-retailer-show-spencer-cox-utah-come-back-bears-ears-public-lands-north-face-patagonia-denver
I heard same words from ALEC….they WROTE that….DUH.
Lol Dan! There is no hypocrite worse than a Utahn who pretends to care for public lands, yet votes against them every election. States’ rights my ass. Lifelong Utahn here.
Dan you say “our lands”. No. They are NOT.
These lands were seized by the Feds a century +++ ago from Indigenous tribes.
You may live there but you do not own any adjacent national public property.
“Our lands.” As if.
White male hubris again.
You nailed it. Will ignorant anti-indigenous racism never end? I just read a review in Good Reads which used the term “savaged” to describe early settlers demonizing eagles.
Doesn’t Patagonia have some of their products sourced and made in Western China?
No.And you’re referring to Xingiang where I’ve spent a fair bit of time.
You really think those retail stores sell even 50% of those brand’s sales in Utah ? Perhaps you’re not familiar with this newfangled thing called the internet or “online shopping”.
Seriously, the IMMEDIATE impact to Utah sales and tax revenues is serious. This seems entirely consistent and really hitting the state where it counts.
Hopefully things can be worked out . . .
Kurt, not sure I understand the point of your post. In modern technology, they can refuse sales to anything in a Utah Zip Code – not that hard to do. I am in favor of never having them sell their products here until they have more respect for locally controlled resources. Patagonia has so much of their product made overseas and then shipped back here, why would I want them in my backyard.
How about a story covering the union drive at REI’s Soho store?
We did when it was first announced. Will follow up when there’s more to the story.
IP blocking would be ineffective AND may be illegal within the US. This isn’t Netflix offering content that is priced differently OUTSIDE of the US. Postal Code blocking . . . again . . . thin ice legally. And then there’s cheap mail forwarding to get around that “effective blockage”. Really, having lived overseas for 20 years . . . blocking is pointless and not my point nor what Patagonia et al are taking to task.
(BTW, I found a TNF product in the SF store with ‘Made in Burma’ 20+ years ago . . . alerted the company and . . . nada.) The Bay Area was one of the first places in the US to ban all businesses and business relationships that engaged the junta. That’s one of the prime reasons it took so long to get BART to SFO completed – Mitsubishi.
But the boycott of the trade show hits sales and tax revenues DIRECTLY and immediately.
As for the manufacturing overseas . . . they’re transparent about it, it’s impact on greenhouse gases and strive to enforce good labor and manufacturing practices. A LOT of folks who manufacture overseas do NONE of that.
It is not illegal to restrict your sales. You can sale to whomever and whatever you want. Utah is not hurting for sales revenue. Our legislature is working on rescinding tax revenues by reducing tax amounts and we have an amazing surplus. Gov Cox was just doing a sales job and his part to make sure that everyone knows they are welcome. They are transparent about their manufacturing over seas to stay two steps ahead of the socially acceptable humanitarian crisis going on in all of those countries.
Good Lord.
Humanitarian crisis ? In China ? Thailand ? Vietnam ? You clearly know a little. Perhaps very little.
Congrats on that surplus . . . Utah is one of many states that REQUIRE a surplus . . . there can be NO deficit spending. That’s worked out well in some states. Not Kansas, though. “Hey, look. we have a surplus. And lousy services.” Doh !
Patagonia et al were simply doing what’s done in this “capitalist” system . . . dinging the money. The surplus will be LESS and vendors, etc will be hurt by his, ahem, idiotic, position.
When one decides to boycott a company or location, it is really important to LET THEM KNOW & WHY. Otherwise it only shows as a random dip in sales.
There is nothing like a letter. Politicians have formulas for how many other individuals are assumed to be in agreement and also taking the same action. It’s remarkable how large that can be. Plus it feels good to speak up.
The dollar is still one of the most powerful tools we have.
Every $ you spend is a vote for something.
So much learned and passionate “multicourse” here. Let’s keep it simple: Follow the money. Boycott. Stop buying gear that a lot of the rest of us cannot afford.
Meanwhile, Spencer Cox threatens to sue the Federal government because they reinstated Bears Ears and GSENM to their original sizes. Dan’s tax dollars at work.
I support outdoor brands taking a stand and publicly pressuring Utah legislators to support protection for public lands. Federal public lands area overwhelmingly popular, and yet politicians are so disconnected from popular opinion that it takes corporations pulling millions of dollars away for them to take note. This type of protest is a stop-gap measure. We need to remove corporate and billionaire money from our elections so that politicians will listen to the people instead of wealthy corporate lobbyists. Residents of western states favor protection of our current public lands, and actively support designating more lands for federal protection (https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest/2021/2021-RevisedConservation-in-the-West-Poll-National-Release.pdf). It’s time western politicians listened less to wealthy cattle, agriculture, mineral, timber, and development interests, and started listening to their constituents.
The power of Citizens United….we sold all 3 legislative branches to the highest bidder…in what, 3 election cycles?
States can care for Pubilc Lamds better then Feds.
That’s a lie ALEC created.
Here’s some data on money generated by out doors…
https://www.backcountryhunters.org/the_lwcf_in_idaho
In other news; anti-government, sagebrush rebellion type Phil Lyman (R-UT) is proposing a $270M bridge over L Powell that he says Biden’s infrastructure bill can mostly cover. Typical blatant hypocrisy.
Yah – what a crock! But this has a less than pico chance of going anywhere. I had a physics call almost 28 years ago at the University of Utah and my teacher was Rich Ingrebetsen, of the Lake Powell Institute fame. I thought he was crazy, but it took me some time to learn. The whole process is so jacked up.
“Why penalize the good people of Utah?”
I boycott Utah because the good people of Utah vote for politicians who are trying to take federal lands away from all citizens, and give them just to Utah, who can the sell, swap and exploit those lands.
I 100% support Patagonia, TNF, Cascase Designs etc for their stance on this.
10000% agreed
The politicians who are trying to give public lands away to extractive industries are voted in by people who I dont care to support!
So no visiting and enjoying the outdoors of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and any other red state? Where do you draw the line? Why even have stories about those regions? If your aim is to change the politics, withholding ALL your dollars may not have the consequence you desire.
@Jeff Fujita
It’s not quite so cut and dry as “Red=bad” and “Blue=good”. It’s more state leaders who directly attack things I care deeply about (public lands, clean water, clean air, being friendly and welcoming to everyone etc) are boycotted.
Any dollars that go to that State may send taxes to the State government to use to attack things I hold dear, or by individuals to then donate to support politicians who attack things I hold dear.
Utah is the worst for trying to steal public land, so they are boycotted by me.
Thank you for voting with your dollars! It’s important to let the local businesses where you would have spent money that you are not coming and WHY. They do the voting that put the destroyers in power.
Personally I am boycotting Texas for their war on human and voting rights… but it only amounts to a few bookstores…
Kris, fair enough, but judging by the crushing numbers of tourists around here, I think you and gringo are the only two “boycotting” UT. Perhaps consider donating to SUWA or similar to help us fight the good fight:)