Editor’s note: This statement was also posted on REI Newsroom.
As a cooperative, REI is built on a set of ideals that we hold dear—we are stronger when we come together.
However, the heartbreaking racial violence and injustices that the Black community continues to experience across this country provides a stark reminder that for many, those ideals are not a reality.
It’s just as stark a reminder for us at REI—that for all our ideals, we are still a long way from achieving them for all in our own community.
We must do better.
We must continue to challenge ourselves, and our community, to be better listeners, better partners, better advocates for one another. For us to see the change we want in the world outside, we must start inside.
We will continue to work with our partners, across the country, who have worked for years in service of greater equity and inclusion in the outdoors. And we call on our entire community to come together with collective resolve and a commitment to respect, understanding and support.
#BlackLivesMatter