One of the nation’s biggest outdoor brands committed to a powerful way to get Americans to vote: free stuff.
On Saturday, Patagonia opened an online portal that invited U.S. residents to sign up for a program aimed at increasing voter turnout in November. The incentive? A $100 gift card usable at Patagonia stores or online. Four days later, the brand announced on Wednesday that it had already reached its cap of 112,000 people, or $11.2 million in gift cards.
Thousands of customers committed to the program, which required participants to send links to at least three friends or family members, encouraging them to vote in the midterm election. Those links also included information on relevant polling locations, early voting, and whether a voter ID will be required. In total, nearly 500,000 people were reached through the program, Patagonia said in a release.
A celebration of the initiative — called the 11.2 Million Vote Project — was held at a Patagonia store in Atlanta on Wednesday evening. Numerous voting organizations attended, handing out information to dozens of people as they ran by the store’s location on the Beltline, the city’s most popular trail. Most attendees were in their 20s and 30s and learned about the voting initiative through Instagram posts.
“I didn’t even realize how close the election was until I saw the Patagonia post,” said Mackenzie Manley, a casual runner who works at nearby Georgia Tech. “I really believe in what Patagonia is doing — I believe in the brand.”
How It Works
It might be too late for the gift cards, but Patagonia plans to keep promoting the 11.2 Million Vote Project until the election. It’s named after research from the Environmental Voter Project, which found that 11.2 million registered-to-vote environmentalists did not vote in the 2024 election. The group made that conclusion from polling, which shows that climate change and other environmental issues remain top priorities for many registered voters.
After signing up for the project, participants add the names and cities of people they know. Then they’ll match those to a voter registration profile through an online portal offered by Relentless, a software company founded in 2022 that helps organizations encourage voting.
The platform helps voters figure out many details of the voting process. It has worked with nonprofit organizations such as Reproductive Freedom for All and the Hispanic Federation, as well as candidates such as California Sen. Adam Schiff and former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams.
But this is the first time that Relentless has worked with a commercial brand, according to co-founder and CEO Davis Leonard. She attended Wednesday’s event in Atlanta, along with other voting organizations. It was the only official, in-person event dedicated to Patagonia’s voting push. Patagonia representatives said they chose Atlanta for its rich history of political organizing.
That was evident in the kiosks set up by numerous local organizations dedicated to improving voter turnout, including Black Voters Matter, GALEO, which aims to improve turnout among Latinos, and Georgia Conservation Voters, which was highlighting the problems of data centers ratcheting up utility costs for Georgia residents.
“There’s a lot of apathy about voting, understandably. There’s a lot to figure out, and no one’s helping you figure it out. It’s easy to feel like it’s not important when you vote every year, and it feels like nothing changes,” said Hanan Abdelrahman, a community organizer for Georgia Conservation Voters. “But when everyone is struggling with affordability, it’s important to advocate for others — not just yourself.”
Atlanta Event
The Wednesday event also included a 3.5-mile group run that drew about 30 people. Some of them told GearJunkie they just came for the group run, and weren’t much interested in the voting push. Others, like Manley, showed up in their running shorts ready for a good afternoon run, but also wanted to support the broader mission.
Patagonia also stressed the importance of community and voting. Several Patagonia ambassadors made speeches to kick off the run.
“Running can feel like a personal thing, but you being here is part of a bigger movement,” said Canyon Woodward, a Patagonia running ambassador from North Carolina. “I find this to be nourishing because it makes me feel like I’m not struggling alone.”
The run’s halfway point was the parking lot for The Carter Center, where two representatives of the nonprofit named for President Jimmy Carter discussed Georgia’s voting history and how local residents can get paid to work as “nonpartisan observer volunteers” for the midterm elections.
“Once people do this once, they want to come back and do it again,” said Anthony Demattee, a data scientist for The Carter Center.
Once back at the Patagonia store, runners and other participants were treated to beverages, Mexican food, and a live show from local songwriter S.G. Goodman. Laura McKenna, who also works at Georgia Tech, said she learned about Patagonia’s voting project through Instagram, and that “the post kind of motivated me.” She signed up for the voting program and successfully obtained her $100 credit.
Patagonia said that program participants could also donate the credit, rather than use it. But McKenna said she already had plans for her $100.
“The jacket I had from The North Face already fell apart, so I think I’m going to use this on a new rain jacket,” McKenna said.
