Earlier today, following the lead of Patagonia, Canadian outerwear brand Arc’teryx pulled out of Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City in protest of Utah Governor Gary Herbert officially asking the Trump Administration to reverse the Bears Ears National Monument designation this week. The monument is an incredibly beautiful region, home to one of North America’s most storied climbing spots, Indian Creek.
Both of these companies left after Black Diamond founder Peter Metcalf threatened to do the same during the winter Outdoor Retailer in January.
Arc’terx and Patagonia have stellar conservation and environmental track records and are leaders in their industry (competitors even). But the cynic might wonder if the two companies were using the poor environmental politics of Utah as a convenient excuse to pull out of the expensive trade show. Hosting two shows a year, OR isn’t cheap: floor space is priced by the square foot and is a commodity as retailers show their wares to customers: from brick-and-mortar shops to internet commerce sites to outfitters. In addition to floor space and transporting product to the show, companies like Patagonia and Arc’teryx have to pay large travel bills to get each of its employees to Salt Lake City and house them while at the event.
Bears Ears National Monument Photo: Arc’teryx
While it will be interesting to see if these two tastemakers in the outdoor world return to OR, if and when it finds a new home, Arc’teryx has doubled down, publicly stating that funds it “would spend in 2017 (on OR) will be reallocated to the Conservation Alliance’s new Public Lands Defense Fund.”
“The Outdoor Industry has an obligation to protect the wild places that are important to our consumers,” Arc’teryx president Jon Hoerauf said in a statement. “Since 2014, we’ve been part of the efforts to protect Bears Ears, supporting local grassroots organizations working on a legislated solution. More recently Arc’teryx has helped to fund Friends of Cedar Mesa and Utah Dine Bike Yah, as they work on a national monument designation. Protecting public lands for future generations is a critical part of our brand values and we will use our influence in a way that is consistent with those values.”
