L.L. Bean is facing a boycott after it was discovered that L.L.Bean board member, and granddaughter of founder Leon Leonwood Bean, Linda Bean, donated $60,000 to a pro-Trump PAC.
According to a letter from the Federal Election Commission, the donation – which was spent on signs, Facebook and radio advertisements, and 30-second TV ads in support of Trump – far exceeded the individual donor cap of $5,000.
After the FEC’s letter was made public, L.L.Bean was added to the “Consider Boycotting” section of the spreadsheet of Trump-friendly companies circulated on social media by the #GrabYourWallet movement.
L.L.Bean board chairman, Shawn Gorman, responded with an open letter on the company’s Facebook page. “We were disappointed to learn that Grab Your Wallet is advocating a boycott against L.L.Bean solely because Linda Bean, who is only one of 50+ family members involved with the business, personally supported Donald Trump for President,” he wrote. “As with most families of this size, the views of L.L.’s family members cover nearly the entire political spectrum. And as every member of this very large family would agree, no single person represents the values of the company that L.L. built.”
#GrabYourWallet founder, Shannon Coulter, responded to L.L.Bean via Twitter, writing, “Instead of carefully crafted PR statements, maybe your energy better spent looking at whether Linda’s support of divisive figures & groups… is worth the inevitable damage to your brand & bottom line such activities will have. In the meantime, I’ll shop elsewhere.”
You can read more about the L.L.Bean boycott at The Boston Globe and Esquire.
