CALIFORNIA – US outdoor clothing brand Patagonia admitted to hiding the phrase ‘Vote the a**holes out’ on a tag inside its latest line of shorts. The message can be found on the brand’s 2020 Road To Regenerative Organic Stand-Up Shorts.
It is claimed the Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, has used the phrase over the last few years to refer to politicians who deny climate change because they take oil money.
However, the company’s claim is a bit rich given it is a major user of oil-derived polyester.
The company’s call for customers to vote – a clear shot at President Donald Trump – went viral on social media over the past few days.
Tessa Byer, a spokesperson for Patagonia, said: “We have been standing up to climate deniers for almost as long as we’ve been making those shorts. [The phrase] refers to politicians from any party who deny or disregard the climate crisis and ignore science, not because they aren’t aware of it, but because their pockets are lined with money from oil and gas interests.”
Patagonia has never been shy of venturing into the political arena. The company joined the Stop Hate for Profit campaign which saw it pull its adverts from Facebook. The company has also campaigned for the protection of public lands in the US.
It is also one of 700 companies to have joined Time to Vote, a business-led, nonpartisan coalition that aims to increase voter participation in the US elections.