REI Wants You to Hike—Not Shop—on Black Friday

“Best idea I have ever heard of!!” @lagunasphotography shared on Instagram.

On Black Friday, REI will be closed because the brand wants its customers and employees to hike, bike, swim, skate, or do anything else other than shop (and maybe not sit on the couch and watch TV). In a campaign called #OptOutside, the outdoor gear and apparel retailer will even pay its 12,000 workers as if it was a regular day "so they can do what they love most—be outside.“ All 143 stores will be closed on Thanksgiving as well.

“While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors,” the company, which annually ranks on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, said in an email to its 5.5 million co-op members on Monday. Deals will still be available, such as 50 percent off of that puffer jacket you’ve been eyeing for your uncle or a discount on snow shoes, but they’ll just come a few days later.

"Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the essential truth that life is richer, more connected and complete when you choose to spend it outside," Jerry Stritzke, the president and CEO of REI, said in a statement. He’s also advocating that individuals share their experiences on social media using the hashtag #OptOutside because, as Stritzke notes, “we love great gear, but we are even more passionate about the experiences it unlocks.”

Patagonia, a similarly eco-friendly company, also encouraged its fans to focus less on consumerism last year. In a full page ad taken out in the New York Times the day after Thanksgiving in 2014, copy read "Don’t buy this jacket,“ alongside an image of the retailer’s popular R2 coat and an explainer of the environmental impact that foes into making just one of the jackets.

With many stores staying open 24/7 and competing with each other as to which can open earlier and close latest (Best Buy, Walmart, J.C. Penney and Toys R Us, to name a few), many other companies are fighting against the commercialization of the holiday. Staples won’t open on Thursday this year in order to let “associates enjoy Thanksgiving their own way.” Last year, Coscto, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, DSW, Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx, and a number of other companies remained shut.

The publicity REI will get from their campaign could also be more beneficial to the brand in the long run than remaining open for two days of shopping. According to the National Retail Federation, sales declined 11 percent over the four-day Thanksgiving-Black Friday shopping weekend last year, due in part to the fact that holiday shopping deals have started to come much earlier and e-commerce.

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