Re: [Paddlewise] ACA and Subaru

A few years ago Subaru made a point of sending their 'Green Team'
to many outdoor industry related exhibitions, and their association 
with ACA
often had them raffling off chances for a new Outback at these events.
Subaru USA also made alliances with LL Bean, etc.

At the Canoecopia event I attended that year, Subaru made a distinct 
point
of handing out 'Leave No Trace' Ethics cards...cards with helpful hints 
on
being environmentally friendly when in the outdoors, stickers, etc.; 
they sponsored
a 'Green Team' that toured the country to educate younger students, 
outdoor industry professionals,
outdoor sport/activity enthusiasts and the general public about 
environmentally friendly
practices.

The point here is that Subaru has made a very deliberate and conscious 
decision to incorporate
'Green' strategy as part of their marketing efforts, and they've used 
these as a means to forge
alliances with groups like the ACA; groups that have direct relevance 
to the Paddlewise
online community.  While other auto/truck manufactures are also 
hypocritical in their
sales appeals, Subaru's recent actions are worthy of specific notice in 
this forum because
of their direct contradiction of previous corporate positioning with 
the paddling community.

This isn't a pissing contest.  Subaru sought to forge an alliance with 
paddlers to
sell them cars/trucks. It seems entirely proper to: 1) inform those 
paddlers of the
controversy; 2) suggest a means for interesred paddlers to express 
their views to Subaru; 3) make the case
that taking such action is: a) feasible, and b) desireable.

-Will
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