How a small idea had a huge effect.
REI is a purpose-driven outdoor co-op of 24 million members. Together, the co-op believes that a life outdoors is a life well lived. Within that simple statement is the genesis of #OptOutside.
#OptOutside first launched in 2015. REI Co-op announced in October of that year that it would close its stores on Black Friday for the first time, giving its employees the day off to #OptOutside and encouraging others around the country to skip the shopping lines and do the same. At the time, no other large retailer had ever shut its doors on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The response was incredible: More than 1.4 million people and 170 outdoor companies, nonprofits and organizations chose to follow suit, shutting their doors and spending that Black Friday outdoors.
In 2016, #OptOutside quadrupled. In 2022, the co-op announced it would close its stores on Black Friday permanently and pay its more than 15,000 employees to enjoy time outside.
And so, while #OptOutside began as an idea to do the right thing for co-op employees, it’s become a movement far bigger than that. In the years since, millions of people have decided to #OptOutside not only on Black Friday but year-round. The concept links directly back to the origin of the co-op: Twenty-three climbing friends founded REI in 1938. United by their love for the outdoors, they decided to source quality and affordable gear for their adventures. They came together, imagined new ways to get outside and changed the way people access the outdoors forever.
More than eight decades later, that same passion for a life outdoors is at the core of everything REI does. The co-op leads with its values, puts employees and members first and creates opportunity for people to pause and choose a different path.
For that reason, #OptOutside isn’t just about Black Friday. It’s a mindset. It’s about choosing life outdoors. And it has become a way for people to share who they are and what they believe in.
Again this year, the co-op invites you to do just that. Start your own tradition. Gather your favorite people, go to your most beloved places, share your best days outside.
If you need inspiration, read about the #OptOutside holiday traditions that members and employees have created over the years.
See you out there …