Video: Why is Patagonia Having the Best Sales Year Ever? The Company is Suing the White House.

“We have a government that’s basically attacking American companies. That’s what dictators do. That’s what despots do.”

Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario, left, at TechFestNW (Sam Gehrke)
By Elise Herron

Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario doesn't refrain from criticizing President Donald Trump.

In December, her company launched a lawsuit against the White House for reversing the national monument designation of Bears Ears in Utah. At the same time, the company launched a "The President is Stealing Your Land" campaign—which prompted the federal Natural Resources Committee to tell customers to boycott the company.  

Related: Patagonia CEO Says Her Conflict With "Despot" President Trump Was Great for Business

Marcario, who spoke at Willamette Week's TechfestNW at Portland State University last month, said, "Trump and [Ryan] Zinke (U.S. Secretary of the Interior) did something that no other president has ever done, which is to reverse national monument designations of past presidents. It is horrible and illegal, we think. So, we're suing."

She adds that the NRC's call to customers to avoid purchasing Patagonia products has prompted the opposite response.

"We're going to have the best year ever," she says.

Watch Marcario discuss the company's lawsuit against the White House and her response to the NRC's boycott efforts below.

For a full video of Marcario's talk at TechfestNW, click here.

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