Outdoor apparel and accessories company Columbia Sportswear is speaking against the partial shutdown by the government. The company based in Portland, Oregon, took out a full-page ad on several newspapers around the country that said, “Make America’s parks open again.”
The CEO of Columbia Sportswear Tim Boyle said that it was not about politics but about protesting the nation’s parks.
“It’s not politically motivated, frankly. This is about … allowing access and protecting the assets that we have invested in so heavily as a country. This is not about which political party is more in favour of the outdoors.” – Tim Boyle, CEO, Columbia Sportswear
The message by the outdoor apparel brand took a jibe on President Trump’s campaign slogan — “Walls shouldn’t block access to parks, and federal workers shouldn’t be left out in the cold. Work together to open our parks”.
Columbia Sportswear has invested US $ 80,000 on the newspaper ad. Asked about the reason for such an investment, Boyle said, “Some of the cavemen in Washington don’t use social media,” adding the effort was done internally. He further asserted, “We’re talking about various issues with the current administration for many, many years. This is a specific attack against our business.”
The move comes after years of Boyle assailing the anti-immigration policies pushed by President Donald Trump.
“The 40% of our business that’s outside the US is really a reflection of the American outdoor lifestyle [and] Americana and the fact the stuff works really well. When the national parks close, it impacts not only our US business but our international business as well. We felt it was important for us to say something,” Boyle said.
Boyle has been expressing dismay at the political climate globally.
