I loathe the new president, and I am aggravated when he tweets gasoline onto fires. But despite board member and Donald Trump supporter Linda Bean’s recent rants, and despite Trump’s endorsement of the company, I will still shop L.L. Bean. I believe the call to boycott a Maine icon is misguided.
I was a Maine resident for eight years. I attended college on the Maine coast, and I worked as a summer camp counselor and wilderness trip leader for many summers. During that life and career, just as today, L.L. Bean gear has been a stalwart companion.
I have never met Linda Bean and know nothing about her professional life or ideology. I do not condone her recent actions. However, the company and the community should not take the blame for someone who appears to be acting alone. Ms. Bean’s board participation is not my decision.
Those who are angry that Ms. Bean used her personal fortune to endorse Donald Trump are not mollified by L.L. Bean’s statement of political neutrality. However, the boycott does not target Linda Bean. It targets the entire company, threatening its employees and shaming its customers. That is a high collateral cost to take revenge on just one of the 63 million people who supported a candidate I detest. Personally, I am more concerned by the 90 million who did not vote on Election Day.
Without intending to, L.L. Bean has sharply opposed Donald Trump for years. Bill Nemitz and others have already opined on why L.L. Bean is a great company: “L.L. Bean treats its workers remarkably well. L.L. Bean is an exemplary corporate citizen … L.L. Bean treats its customers like royalty.”
In addition, L.L. Bean’s existence as a private company, not taking careless risks with other people’s money, is another contradiction to Trump’s greed and kleptocracy.
L.L. Bean’s proactive environmental stewardship efforts are easily identified. Much more importantly, L.L. Bean has provided customers with high-quality gear to get outside and find their love for the outdoors. I do not know how many environmental activists L.L. Bean has created, but it must be more than a few. And L.L. Bean gear has saved lives.
Bottom line, L.L. Bean’s business philosophy and success testify that responsible companies can and should still thrive.
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