Advocacy for the Outdoors and for the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Like many citizens, nonprofits and businesses, REI engages in public policy dialogues that affect our future. Our goal is to shape federal and state policy in a way that better enables us to pursue the co-op’s core purpose and allows us to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving retail marketplace.

Generally speaking, we get involved in two types of policy matters. First, government policy can have a significant impact on public access to and enjoyment of parks, trails, waterways and other natural places where people enjoy outdoor recreation. Here, we work with partners and government officials to ensure that as the public policy landscape evolves, our members, customers and employees are always able to pursue the outdoor activities they enjoy.

Second, we work on public policy matters that impact the daily business operations of what has come to be known as the outdoor recreation economy. Across the nation, thousands of businesses, large and small, make their livelihood by helping people to get outdoors and enjoy the natural environment. Some of these businesses design and sell gear and apparel. Others provide guide services, travel services and lodging. At REI, we pursue policy outcomes that support the success of this business sector.

As REI grows, we recognize that the co-op’s success is more closely intertwined with policy developments. So in 2011, we hired a full-time government relations director. The co-op’s government affairs program also relies on engagement by REI leaders and by political and policy consultants in Washington, D.C., the Monument Policy Group.

We also belong to several trade associations that have their own government affairs operations. We work actively with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) to advance the policy agenda of recreation economy businesses, both with respect to public lands and operational issues. For issues that specifically affect retailers, we participate in some of the policy initiatives driven by the Retail Industry Leaders Association. And in Washington state, where we are headquartered, we are members of the Washington Retail Association.

Like many companies with government affairs programs, we also regularly partner with nonprofits, coalitions and other associations on different issues and in different venues depending on the topic. The Outdoor Alliance and Bikes Belong are just two examples of these types of organizations. The former represents avid outdoors enthusiasts, who try to assure their access to unique climbing, kayaking, white water rafting and other adventurous places. Bikes Belong works on policies and supports programs that make bicycling both safer and a more viable mode of transportation.

Primary Initiatives

The bulk of REI's efforts in 2011 were focused on a handful of initiatives. Most policy initiatives take quite some time to play out given the push and pull of the democratic process. While we feel we continue to make headway, each of our major efforts remains a work in progress.

In terms of protecting parks, waterways and trails—and promoting greater access to them—we:

• Continued to support the U.S. Government’s America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative. This is a cross-U.S. Government (USG) effort, endorsed by many NGOs and companies, that aims to implement a comprehensive conservation and recreation agenda for the 21^st century (http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/). At the launch of the AGO recommendations in February 2011, REI President and CEO Sally Jewell introduced President Obama, which was shared with customers on the REI blog. As part of the AGO, REI’s Vice President of Public Affairs, Michael Collins, has been named to a federal advisory committee tasked with guiding the creation of a 21^st Century Conservation Service Corps. More broadly, we continue to work with partners and the USG to advance key AGO objectives.

• Advocated for bills and appropriations that sustain a variety of existing programs that, in turn, support the maintenance and development of parks, trails and recreational lands. At the federal level, these include the Land & Water Conservation Fund and the Recreational Trails Program. We also are supporting efforts to draw attention to the 2016 centennial of the National Parks System and the NPS’s needs for its second century. In Washington state, we support, among other things, sustaining local implementation of the federal Recreational Trails Program.

• Partnered with government officials and industry colleagues to raise awareness of outdoor recreation’s substantial economic benefits. Most notable here, we and others in the outdoor recreation sector have been working with the Western Governors Association (WGA) on the “Get Out West!” campaign aimed at attracting adventurers and travelers to the many wonderful outdoor experiences available in the western half of the country. With input from REI, the WGA also will roll out in June 2012 a series of recommendations for how to better engage youth in outdoor activities and ways to strengthen tourism and the western economy. In parallel, we have been supporting the Outdoor Industry Association’s updating of its 2006 economic impact study. In 2012, OIA intends to release new figures on the hundreds of billions of dollars our sector contributes to national GDP and the more than 6 million jobs the sector supports. The 2006 study is at http://www.outdoorindustry.org/research.php?action=detail&research_id=26.

To assure REI’s product development and retail operations remain competitive in an intensely competitive marketplace, in 2011 we:

• Worked with a broad coalition of retailers, shopping mall owners and other Main Street businesses seeking congressional action to close the so-called Internet sales tax loophole. A bipartisan collection of Senators and Congressmen recognize that it is time to undo a decades’ old Supreme Court decision that immunizes many online-only retailers from having to collect sales taxes. In the Internet age, the burden of collecting sales taxes on online transactions is lightweight, giving online-only vendors an often substantial, unfair pricing advantage if they are not required to collect sales tax that is owed from shoppers. Bills before Congress would level the playing field and at the same time help repair strained state budgets by allowing states to compel online-only retailers to collect and remit existing sales taxes. For more information about the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, visit http://standwithmainstreet.com.   
  

• Supported efforts by outdoor industry companies to reduce import tariffs on high-performance outerwear and footwear, where those tariffs raise costs on consumers and do not protect a domestic industry. Many highly technical, modern-day articles of clothing, including those that breathe and repel bad weather, have never been manufactured in the United States. The global supply chain for highly technical outerwear largely moved off-share decades ago. Yet, the products continue to face extraordinarily high tariffs. This creates high product costs without benefit to U.S. consumers or industry. With OIA, we are advancing the U.S. OUTDOOR Act which would eliminate or substantially reduce those tariffs. With tariffs reduced, companies like REI would be able to deliver higher performing outerwear at even better prices. We also have supported the Affordable Footwear Act, which for similar reasons and with similar benefits would reduce tariffs on an array of footwear, including hiking boots and weather resistant shoes not manufactured in the United States in any meaningful quantities.

Other Public Disclosures

Federal and state laws require REI to file forms describing certain, more detailed aspects of our work on policy matters.  These disclosures are updated on a regular basis. We believe the most useful tools for tracking the data are:

• http://www.senate.gov/legislative/Public_Disclosure/LDA_reports.htm (federal policy advocacy)
• http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/ (federal policy advocacy)
• http://www.pdc.wa.gov/public/default.aspx  (policy advocacy in Washington State)

With respect to financing campaigns for public office, REI as a company makes no contributions either directly to candidates or indirectly via Super PACs. REI employees and executives may choose to make personal contributions to political campaigns. In addition, the OIA operates a political action committee, and eligible REI employees may make contributions to it. At both the federal and state levels, there are systems in place that capture and disclose information about campaign contributions. In our view, the best tools for tracking that data are:

• http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.php?ql3 (federal campaign contributions by individuals and PACs)
• http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcQuerySystem/AdvancedSearch/Contributions (contributions to Washington State campaigns by individuals and organizations)