Earlier this week, Patagonia announced that for this year's Black Friday, they will be donating 100% of their sales to environmental groups. This comes, according to the company, as a response to the recent election results. Lisa Pike Sheehy, the vice president of environmental activism at Patagonia, stated that she hopes environmental issues are a facet of activism all people in this country care enough about during this divisive and uncertain time. Personally, it's hard not to draw parallelisms between Patagonia's announcement, current events at Standing Rock, and the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday (plus the false mythic tale we've all been told about the holiday's origins).

Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc. boldly declared their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, earning them both praise & calls for boycotts. Social justice campaigns and making a strong sociopolitical statement are both very polarizing ways companies have marketed their brands in recent years.

I believe most of America's under-50 population is at a point in history where we are aware of how influential our dollars are, however, this doesn't seem to translate well to the brands we abstain from buying unless it causes enough controversy, of course. For example, one may be an advocate for LGBTQ rights but continues to buy food from Chick-Fil-A, despite the company's very vocal opposition to something as low-level as same-sex marriage. In another example, one can identify as conservative but may choose to shop at Target stores. I'm guilty, too, we all are. I own a pair of Nike shoes that I regularly work out in, despite the unethical labor practices Nike is known for, even after increased transparency.

Companies should continue to make these statements to better articulate their mission and how we as consumers view their brand, but this can only work if we as consumers do the most difficult task of all: Taking this information and applying it to spending habits.