Yes, the Patagonia 'vote the a**holes out' clothing tag you've seen on Twitter is genuine.

You might have seen the photo on social media of a Patagonia clothing tag that says “vote the assholes out” and wondered if it was genuine. Even by the sustainable clothing pioneers standards it perhaps seems a little unlikely. And with even the most basic editing package can make fake images seem real. But desperate times, and wretched candidates, lead to some bold actions and these tags are real, and can be found on the brand’s 2020 Road To Regenerative Organic Stand-Up Shorts. The company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, has used the blunt message over the last few years to refer to politicians who deny climate change because they take money from fossil fuel companies.

It’s particularly prescient with the US presidential election approaching in November alongside Senate races. And on the Patagonia website now they are pushing Make a Plan to Vote including scoring for Senators based on their environmental voting record.

“They were added to our 2020 Men’s and Women’s Road to Regenerative Organic Stand-Up Shorts because we have been standing up to climate deniers for almost as long as we’ve been making those shorts. It refers to politicians from any party who deny or disregard the climate crisis and ignore science, not because they aren’t aware of it, but because their pockets are lined with money from oil and gas interests” said Patagonia spokesperson Tessa Byars.

Patagonia is known for practicing what it preaches when it comes to environmental impact and workers rights, it sued Donald Trump for his decision to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah and even endorsed two Senate candidates in 2018 because of their support for protecting public lands. It also decided to give away its $10 million windfall from the Trump tax cut to conservation groups. And, as we’ve reported here before has delivered an anti-capitalist message during the annual Black Friday shopping bonanza.

Ryan Gellert, General Manager – EMEA, Patagonia, is a lead speaker at World Bio Markets (March 29-31 2021, Amsterdam)

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