Columbia Sportswear is set aside out against the partial government shutdown, but its CEO told CNBC on Monday that it isn’t about politics — it’s about protecting the country’s parks.
The retailer, whose business is predicated on people being able to enjoy the outdoors, took out an ad in The Washington Support on Friday that said, “Make America’s parks open again.”
CEO Tim Boyle said it’s the first time the troop has made an investment like this.
“It’s not politically motivated, frankly. This is about … allowing access and protecting the assets that we induce invested in so heavily as a country. This is not about which political party is more in favor of the outdoors,” he said in an appraisal with “Closing Bell.”
The shutdown, now in its 24th day, is the longest in U.S. history. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats are locked in a altercation over whether to include funding for Trump’s border wall in a spending package.
While the national parks haven’t been formed closed because of the shutdown, some have opted to shut due to lack of staffing. Others have remained extended with little or no staff.
The result has been a buildup of trash, among other problems.
At Joshua Tree Nationwide Park in California, some of its signature Joshua trees were destroyed. Officials said last week they were superior to avert a temporary closure of the park by utilizing revenue generated by recreation fees. They said the park pleasure immediately bring back staff to address “sanitation issues,” as well as to “ensure the protection of park resources and assuage the some of the damage that has occurred during the lapse of appropriations.”
Boyle said Columbia Sportswear, which played out $80,000 on the one-time ad, said the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
“We want both sides to come together to get this answered and get parks open again,” he said.
And while the shutdown hasn’t had a direct effect on the company’s bottom line, that could mutate.
“We would expect that people who want to go outdoors need apparel and need footwear to enjoy the outdoors and we contemplate that over time this will definitely have an impact,” said Boyle.
— Reuters contributed to this communication.