Rebel with a Cause

Outdoor brands need to talk politics and make some conservative friends.

By Peak Design

April 25^th, 2023

Annie Nyborg here, Head of Environmental and Social Impact at Peak Design. Over the last year, a couple ruminations have guided how I approach Peak’s environmental and social work. While not revelations, I feel they warrant some air time and reflection:

Outdoor brands are falling short of their political potential and that needs to change.
Outdoor brands should lead in engaging conservatives and pursuing compromises in earnest.

Outdoor companies have come a long way in understanding how to run a responsible business: use sustainable materials, ensure good working conditions in factories, treat employees equitably and inclusively, reduce carbon emissions. We’ve got our playbook and we’re busy doing our small part as individual businesses.

But now what? How do we pursue change on a bigger scale outside the confines of our own operations?

The answer is political advocacy. And specifically, collective political advocacy.

If you’re not sure what that means exactly, it’s pretty simple: it means telling your local, state, and federal representatives what you care about. Despite what you think, it works. And if a group of businesses is asking for the same things, it really works. Especially when that group of businesses - the outdoor industry - is worth $860+ billion to the U.S. economy and represents constituents in officials’ districts. Our potential to drive decision-making is large and largely untapped.

To those who say business should stay out of politics, we’d love to! Peak Design would rather focus on what we do best - making great products. Unfortunately, there are big business dollars already being used by other companies to push policies antithetical to our values and we can’t sit on the sidelines. In a sense, staying silent would negate the hard work we’re doing to be a responsible company through product design and operations.

I’ve been pondering why more brands aren’t involved in advocacy and my guess is it boils down to two things: they don’t know how to and/or they’re worried about pissing off customers.

Regarding the latter, I’d argue the potential risk to your bottom line is low and, in fact, there is some evidence to suggest that customers are seeking brands that advocate for people and planet. I also think that there is more in common between customers across the political spectrum than we realize, which leads me to my second point: engaging conservatives.

It’s no secret that the outdoor industry leans left but we can still lead in bipartisanship because of shared love of our country’s lands and waters. What does that look like? Well, it looks like tough but honest conversations and compromises around fossil fuel development, mining, permitting, and nuclear energy. It also looks like capitalizing on that shared love, specifically through conservation and restoration.

And why does it matter? It matters because there is no way to make the progress we need on climate or conservation if we only achieve wins when a Democrat is in the White House. Big legislative actions take time to deliver and we can’t rely on executive actions which can be overturned by future administrations. We need Congress to act and that means elected officials from both sides of the aisle. It can and has been done successfully, one example being the hugely impactful bipartisan Dingell Act - the largest land conservation legislation in over a decade.

Inherently, working within our echo chambers also won't lead to the best possible solutions. Diversity of thought lends itself to greater creativity, more ideas, and better problem solving, especially when faced with complex and unwieldy challenges. There are excellent initiatives on both sides of the aisle that warrant thoughtful discussion. We must resist the wholesale dismissal of ideas that do not originate from "our team" and temper the polarizing voices dominating the national dialogue. The majority of us fall between the poles.

In the outdoor industry, we have always prided ourselves on being the dirtbags, the rebels, the radicals, the activists. And today, I’d argue the most radical stance we could take is one of vocal unapologetic compromise and bipartisanship.

In an age of ubiquitous polarization, nothing is as rebellious as trying to work with someone who sees things differently than you.

Outdoor brand representatives meet with congressional policy staff to discuss conservation priorities.

PD CEO, Peter Dering, and Head of Environmental & Social Impact, Annie Nyborg, attend the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's annual award ceremony honoring one Republican and one Democratic congressional conservation champion.

The Conservation Alliance's annual policy training for member brands.

I’ve recently been interested in the work of the American Conservation Coalition, an organization of young Republican climate activists. Their approach to combating climate change might differ from ours, but we ultimately want the same thing and would benefit from learning from and supporting each other.

So, who’s with me?

On how to get involved, my suggestion is to partner with an advocacy organization. They do the policy homework, facilitate the relationships with reps, and tell you when and how to throw your support behind campaigns. Peak Design works with the organizations below. If any resonate with you, reach out to them, or find another group that aligns with your brand values.