This week, Patagonia launched a new online campaign against Trump, following his announcement that he’d be reducing the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by a combined 1.9 million acres.
On Monday evening, the company replaced their normal, product-hawking homepage with one featuring a solid black background and a simple, plain message, written in big, white letters: “The President Stole Your Land.”
Below that, in a smaller font, is a paragraph that reads, “In an illegal move, the president just reduced the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. This is the largest elimination of protected land in American history.”
Founder Yvon Chouinard had already released a lengthy ad supporting the monuments back in August, and this week, he told CNN’s Bill Weir that he’s planning to sue Trump.
“I’m going to sue him,” Chouinard said. “It seems the only thing this administration understands is lawsuits. I think it’s a shame that only 4% of American lands are national parks. Costa Rica’s got 10%. Chile will now have way more parks than we have. We need more, not less. This government is evil and I’m not going to sit back and let evil win.”
Patagonia aren’t the only ones taking Trump to court over his decree. According to the Washington Post, lawsuits are also being brought by a coalition of 10 conservation groups, and a coalition of five tribes.
Will they help? At this point, who knows. But Patagonia deserves credit for not only making a strong statement, but doing so at its own expense — they’re burying their own merchandise during the busiest shopping season of the year.
You can read more about it at The Washington Post.
