Sorry if this is a topic that's been discussed around here before (couldn't find anything on it via search), but I'm a little confused about REI and I wanted to bring it up, since we seem to have a lot of people who love REI around these parts.
I thought it was widely known that REI has adopted an official stance against motorized recreation, and that they indirectly and directly support this agenda by donating money to wilderness organizations and clubs that strongly oppose off-roading (and who's sole purpose is to limit access to public lands), and by refusing to donate to organizations that explicitly support motorized recreation. I've even seen their company name on an official petition in support of shutting down or limiting motor vehicle access to Moab National Park.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling people not to shop there, and I'm not trying to create a divide within the group. In fact, I'm really hoping you guys tell me I'm misinformed because I love their products. But it seems like whenever people have asked the company for their official stance on the topic, they dance around the issue by saying they "believe the use of public lands is a balance, and that supporting wilderness initiatives is a big part of that balance." But, because they don't support the other side of that "balance," they are essentially saying that there is already too much motor vehicle recreating and not enough restricted public lands. A quick Google search will yield many examples where people have emailed the company to ask them if they support off-roading, with that response/stance received in return. It's sort of like claiming that you're an Independent when it comes to politics, but then always voting Republican. If you always side with the Republican agenda and never vote for another party's candidate in your life, then you're a Republican who just refuses to accept it or admit it (disclaimer: this is just the best example I could think of and is not a representation of my political views one way or the other. Please - let's not make this a political discussion).
Clearly, the topic of access to public lands is a polarizing one, and groups like ours and overland-expedition groups seem to get stuck in the middle because overall, we believe strongly in conservation and not leaving a trace, and many of us recreate on public lands in ways other than off-roading (which is exactly why we love REI's products). But we still wheel, and therefore we are everything that's wrong with the world today according to certain organizations who believe there is no such thing as motorized recreation that doesn't cause harmful and irreversible damage to the environment. And it seems that REI agrees with these agendas, because they donate to groups like the Sierra Club and Conservation Alliance (who also receives donations from Columbia, The North Face and Merrell), but don't donate to organizations like The Blue Ribbon Coalition and Tread Lightly. I've always felt sort of pressured into avoiding REI and their products because of this, and I'm curious to know everyone else's thoughts.