It’s Election Day, which is cool, assuming lots of people vote (go vote). But because down is up in 2018, it’s been corporations — and Big Fashion in particular — that have been doing some of the best work when it comes to promoting the democratic process.
As reported by WWD, “The cliché used to be that the consumer votes with their wallets. Now American fashion brands are stepping up efforts for them to vote at the polls,” and they’re doing it a whole bunch of different ways.
After Patagonia revealed the entire company would be closing on Election Day so that “every one of its U.S.-based employees could vote,” the idea — dubbed “Time to Vote” — was adopted by 400 other companies, including Levi Strauss & Co. and Walmart.
New York designer Rachel Comey is taking things a step further today, by ferrying voters to “canvas nearby swing districts” in conjunction with SwingLeft and Downtown for Democracy.
Nike’s CEO Mark Parker and Columbia Sportswear’s chairman and CEO Tim Boyle teamed up to write “a formal opposition in Oregon’s Voter’s Guide opposing Measure 105, which would strike down the state’s 30-year-old sanctuary law.”
Even New Balance is getting in on the action — probably wise considering the way things went in 2016 — with their #RuntothePolls campaign, which they’re rolling out in tandem with (and this is real) Betches Media.
Elsewhere, Theory, Carbon38 and Wildfang, among others, have been running targeted campaigns, and at the end of September, designer Tory Burch launched a limited-run “Vote” T-shirt, with all net proceeds going to actor and activist Yara Shahidi’s Eighteen x 18 voting initiative.
The big take away: being “political” isn’t risky for brands anymore. According to a cited survey, “more shoppers are keeping tabs on where manufacturers and retailers stand on current social, environmental and political issues,” making a political presence arguably on-trend.
But again, it’s Election day, so if you already voted, what’s up. Otherwise, GO FUCKING VOTE.
You can read more about it at WWD.
