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by qrohlf 900 days ago
I’m also curious to see some examples – I used to work at a well known software company in the outdoor recreation / fitness space that made a really big deal about social justice both internally and externally. You would think they’d also be strong on the environment given the market they operated in but the minute you brought up conservation or environmental justice in an all-hands q&a they would immediately shut the line of discussion down hard.

I’m guessing it’s a much more significant hit to the bottom line to take a hard stance on environmental stuff vs DEI/social justice etc, which kind of surprised me but I can’t think of another explanation. It’s not like they were afraid of alienating market segments due to political alignment, since their (good imho!) stance on antiracisim was definitely just as politically charged as taking a strong stance on sustainability would have been…
2 comments
000ooo000 899 days ago
Politics at work are dandy, so long as they're the right politics and you agree with the company. Just like the time at a previous employer of mine, where we had a morning tea fundraiser for the national animal welfare organisation on the Monday and then a lunch with betting for an annual, national horse race on the Tuesday. Nobody seemed all that interested in the irony there. Elsewhere here in Australia, a number of fast food places made a big song and dance about introducing plant-based options For The Environment TM, but just recently they've quietly removed them from the menu. It's hard not to see any ethical comments/stance as simply an extension of marketing. At best, a company could be selectively ethical, but only where it doesn't affect profit negatively; I just can't see 99% of companies foregoing profit over ethics.
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solardev 899 days ago
It's hard for me to imagine why this might be the case at an outdoor company...? Is this something like Trailforks and conversations about the impacts of mountain bike trails or something?

Normally these brands are the other way around (all about the environmental, less concerned about social justice).

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