海角大神

When Columbia Sportswear took out a full-page ad in The Washington Post denouncing the government shutdown last month, it wasn鈥檛 the result of a long deliberation.

鈥淭hat one came more from the heart,鈥� says Peter Bragdon, Columbia鈥檚 chief administrative officer and general counsel. The 鈥淢ake America鈥檚 parks open again鈥� ad came together in a few hours, as the result of what he describes as 鈥渟trong feelings about something that needed to be addressed.鈥�

Columbia was just the latest outdoor-gear company to speak out on issues such as public lands and climate change, in some cases taking on President Trump directly.

While environmental advocacy is hardly new to many of these companies, the industry as a whole is becoming an increasingly important player on a number of hot-button topics.

It鈥檚 less clear that such advocacy from retail companies actually changes minds, but experts say it reflects a shifting landscape in which both consumers and employees expect companies to offer up values along with their products, and to stake out a position of leadership on causes important to them.

鈥淎 part of what you see is this larger movement in the US, where there鈥檚 this expectation that companies will have a certain value set and will speak out,鈥� says Amy Roberts, the executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). She points to one survey that shows that 76 percent of consumers think CEOs should take the lead on issues such as the environment, equal pay, and personal data.

鈥楾he president stole your land鈥�

For the outdoor industry, the first real flexing of collective muscle came in 2017, when Mr. Trump moved to drastically reduce two national monuments in Utah, in part due to pressure from some Utah lawmakers. The industry responded by moving its lucrative trade show from Salt Lake City, where it had always been held, to Denver.

Individual companies 鈥� including some that tend to serve more conservative hunters and anglers 鈥� became vocal about the need to protect public lands. And the day after Trump announced his decision to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, Patagonia replaced its home page with an all-black background and the stark message, 鈥淭he president stole your land.鈥澨齏hether that decision holds up is still being decided by the courts 鈥� including through a lawsuit filed by Patagonia.

Public lands are a natural and relatively safe area, politically,听for outdoor retailers to focus their attention on.听Outdoor outfitters have long profited from a universal love of nature.听Their customers, regardless of political views, inherently value spending time outdoors.听

鈥淲hen you come across someone on a trail, you don鈥檛 think about what party they鈥檙e in,鈥� says Mr. Bragdon of Columbia.

The near-universal appeal of protecting public lands was on display Tuesday when the Senate voted 92 to 8 on a sweeping public lands bill that sets aside 1.3 million acres of wilderness in the American West, among other provisions.听

Douglas C. Pizac/AP/File

The Trump administration's 2017 decision to reduce the size of Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, seen here, ignited an activist spark among many outdoor equipment and apparel brands.

More recently, the industry has begun to rally collectively around climate action, an issue with a clearer partisan divide. At the January Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in Denver, three of the industry鈥檚 largest trade groups 鈥� OIA, SnowSports Industries America, and the National Ski Areas Association 鈥� announced the formation of the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership, dedicated to climate advocacy.

A few ski areas have already been actively campaigning for climate action, both on their own and through the coalition.

鈥淲e鈥檝e always thought that climate change was the essential problem facing the ski industry,鈥� says Auden Schendler, vice president of sustainability for Aspen Snowmass. It became clear that efforts to reduce the climate footprints of individual resorts would be just a drop in the bucket, but that effort could be amplified through advocacy and education.

At Aspen, Schendler notes, one of the biggest points of leverage is the high-influence, high-wealth customers who frequent the resort. 鈥淲e could just run a ski resort,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e choosing to make them a little bit uncomfortable in order to leverage power.鈥�

But will customers respond?

In such a polarized political climate, there鈥檚 certainly a risk involved.听When retailer Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods, which has a subsidiary dedicated to hunting and fishing, in the wake of the Parkland shooting, there was a backlash from some customers.听It鈥檚 not hard to find calls to boycott Patagonia among conservative corners of the internet, and after the company鈥檚 鈥淭he president stole your land鈥� message, the Republican-led House Committee on Natural Resources mocked the message in a tweet of its own: 鈥淧atagonia is lying to you.鈥�

But when it comes to advocating for climate action in general, many Americans may see it as a natural place for outdoor companies to get involved, says Anne Kelly, senior director of policy and the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy network at Ceres, a nonprofit that encourages and tracks corporate actions on sustainability.

鈥淎ll companies have a vested interest in solving climate change, but for [outdoor outfitters] it鈥檚 more immediate,鈥� says Ms. Kelly. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e our outdoor first responders.鈥�

Of course, it鈥檚 not clear how effective any corporate advocacy is. A showed that consumers increasingly want companies to take a stand on certain issues. But in the same survey, a majority of respondents also said they believe they鈥檝e purchased items from a company whose views they disagree with.

And while the numbers of the outdoor industry may be impressive 鈥� 7.6 million American jobs and $887 billion in annual consumer spending 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 have the sort of clout of traditional big-spending groups like the National Rifle Association or the energy lobby.

But the industry鈥檚 biggest lever may be its interface with such a wide swath of Americans.

That became particularly evident in the debate about national monuments. Patagonia and like-minded companies played a big role in mobilizing consumers to submit public comments. In the end, thanks in large part to that effort, more than a million comments were submitted to the Department of the Interior, nearly all of them in favor of keeping monuments intact.听鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the real grassroots power is,鈥� says Ms. Roberts of the OIA.

For some, leveraging that power is proving to be good for business.

鈥淥ur business has grown since we鈥檝e doubled down on our advocacy,鈥� says Corley Kenna, Patagonia鈥檚 communications director.

In select instances, such advocacy may have helped to change the political discussion.

Patagonia took the rare step in the 2018 elections of endorsing two Senate candidates directly, in Montana and Nevada. Both candidates won in narrow elections, and in endorsing Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester鈥檚 bid for reelection, Patagonia helped thrust the issue of public lands to the fore, says Ms. Kenna.

鈥淗is opponent, who had not been an advocate of public lands, had to switch his position,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f we can build that kind of public lands constituency across the country, not just in the West, then I think we鈥檒l make inroads.鈥�

Indeed, several advocates say they hope that the action they鈥檙e taking will help bridge some of the partisan divides in the United States.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an opportunity to bring people together who are otherwise polarized, by being reasonable about some of these things that are shared values,鈥� says Columbia's Bragdon.听鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who can be against parks.鈥�