Patagonia’s New York Stores Kick Off ‘Voice Your Choice’ Campaign
Published June 11th, 2008
NEW YORK - In an unusual case of allowing corporate giving to be guided by community input, the SoHo and Upper West Side stores of outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia are asking area residents to select a local environmental organization in their respective communities to receive separate $4,000 grants. Consumers can cast their ballots in their local Patagonia store from June 10 through July 19 in a “Voice Your Choice” campaign that marks the newest initiative in Patagonia’s well-known support of environmental causes.
Local groups nominated for the award from the SoHo store are The River Project (www.riverproject.org), Recycle-A-Bicycle (www.recycleabicycle.org), The American Littoral Society (www.alsnyc.org), The Blue Ocean Institute (www.blueocean.org), and More Gardens Fund (www.moregardens.org).
Local nominees for the award from the Upper West Side store are Bronx River Alliance (www.bronxriver.org), Newtown Creek Alliance (www.newtowncreekalliance.org), Riverkeeper (www.riverkeeper.com), Solar One (www.solar1.org), and Rocking the Boat (www.rockingtheboat.org). Both stores’ candidates were selected by Patagonia store members based on their local focus and range of environmental concerns.
Consumers can learn more about the groups by visiting their websites as well as attending presentations by each organization that will be hosted by the stores over the next few weeks. Additional store information and locations can be found at www.patagonia.com/SoHo and www.patagonia.com/upperwestside. Participants can cast one vote per store per visit. No purchase is necessary. The winners will be announced at a special Grants Reception at each store in early August.
“Our Voice Your Choice program has two purposes: helping local organizations continue the important work of restoring and protecting the local environment, and raising public awareness about the various environmental projects taking place in the community,” said Vickie Achee, Head of Marketing for Patagonia’s North America Retail Division. “There are so many worthy recipients that we are asking each local community’s help in selecting the honoree.”
The campaign is an extension of Patagonia’s corporate Environmental Grants Program, which has generated more than $31 million in grants since 1985 through a policy of giving 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide. All Patagonia stores throughout the country except the new Boulder store, which recently ran its own Voice Your Choice campaign in conjunction with its grand opening, will be participating in the Voice Your Choice program.
“No one is more aware of local environmental issues than the people who live with these issues every day. The Voice Your Choice campaign allows us to involve the local community in grant decisions that will directly affect them,” Achee noted. “At the same time, our goal is to encourage environmental activism. The more people who raise their hands, the greater the difference we can make in the future of the planet.”
Patagonia has a long-standing commitment to environmental causes that extends far beyond its grants program. The company uses 100% organic cotton for all Patagonia-branded apparel to avoid causing environmental damage from toxic chemicals used in growing conventional cotton. It also has used fleece made from post-consumer recycled plastic soda bottles since 1993; recycles competitors’ garments as well as its own through a program that accepts worn-out fleece, organic cotton t-shirts and Capilene (long underwear) products for recycling into new fibers; is creating a national park in Chile; and encourages sustainability through a variety of other initiatives.
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