Patagonia stopped all paid advertising on Facebook platforms in June 2020 because they spread hate speech and misinformation about climate change and our democracy. We continue to stand by that boycott 16 months later.
This decision has affected our business, and the environmental nonprofits that we support-whose campaigns benefit from the social media amplification that we fund and execute. But we have learned to adapt. We are smarter and savvier in how we grow our community as a result of this advertising ban.
The internal Facebook documents released over the last few weeks have made it incredibly clear that they know the irreparable damage that their lack of accountability causes their three billion users and the corrosive effects that has on society itself. Facebook’s executives know what steps it can take to mitigate such harm–yet they have repeatedly failed to reform.
We believe Facebook has a responsibility to make sure its products do no harm, and until they do, Patagonia will continue to withhold our advertising. We encourage other businesses to join us in pushing Facebook to prioritize people and planet over profit. – Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia