FREEPORT, Maine (AP) — L.L. Bean likes to stay out of politics, yet a donation by a member of the Bean family is putting the retailer on the defensive.
The Maine-based company issued a statement late Sunday after being targeted for boycott for alleged ties to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The founders of the hashtag #GrabYourWallet included Bean on the list after The Associated Press reported that L.L. Bean’s granddaughter, Linda Bean, contributed $60,000 to a political action committee supporting Trump. The donation exceeded the PAC’s contribution limit.
Bean Chairman Shawn Gorman said he’s “deeply troubled by the portrayal of L.L. Bean as a supporter of any political agenda.” He said there are nine other board members and 50 family owners and that Linda Bean’s donation shouldn’t speak for all of them.
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Good. Be upset. That’s the point of a boycott.
And, no, it is not OK for you to keep a board member who makes such donations. It’s legal, and you can di it if you want. But I don’t have to buy anything from you while you accept it.
That’s the point of a boycott. To make the point that an action is unacceptable.
In a perfect world she might get the sort of treatment as the owner of a certain Dairy Queen in Zion, Illinois.
Karma, you know.
No. The action is illegal. She made the donation to the PAC that exceeded the limit by law. The limit is I believe $5,000.00 in a calendar year. She exceeded that by $55,000.00. That ain’t chump change. That’s the point.
Several generations of my family have been loyal LL Bean customers. I have family in Maine and the Bean store in Freeport is usually one of the stops I make when I visit the state. I called and emailed to let them know that as long as they have board members who support dump, they will be boycotted. Linda Bean makes money when I buy their products and then funnels money to trump.
Having her on the board is legal.