Opt Outside

The company action is the message. Closing every store, suspending online sales and paying employees to spend retail’s most aggressive shopping day outdoors costs enough to make REI’s belief credible. The public does not need to buy anything to participate; customers, parks, nonprofits and other companies can all repeat the same behavior. That makes the idea larger than a one-day promotion and gives it the structure of a ritual. REI proves its purpose through what it refuses to do, then gives everyone else a simple way to join.