Article Overview: Companies That Support National Parks
National Parks and everything they represent, from land conservation to wildlife protection to cultural preservation, are places we can all get behind right? Well sadly, as much as we’d think that, there are quite a few people and companies out there who stand to profit from seeing fewer national parks and seeing existing ones protections taken away.
Yes as the famed conservationist John Muir once said, “Nothing dollarable is ever safe, however guarded.” Profit motive has a tricky way of making people and companies do things that aren’t necessarily in the best interest of humanity.
That’s why we wanted to take a moment to highlight the top ten companies that support national parks. Of course there are a great number of wonderful charitable organizations that support the national parks like the National Park Foundation and the National Parks Conservation Association, but today we wanted to highlight for-profit companies who support our national parks even though it’s not part of their business.
So let’s give these next 10 companies a nice round of applause for doing the right thing when it comes to our national parks even though they don’t have to. And if you’re looking for gifts for national park fans or want to support businesses that support our national parks check out our National Park Gifts for People Who Love the National Parks article.
How We Came Up With the Rankings
To bring you this list we started by researching the companies that routinely partner with charities like the National Park Foundation, the NPCA, and others – providing the largest contributions. We also looked at each companies demonstrated commitment to safeguarding, improving, and supporting our national parks and public lands.
The top ten wasn’t terribly difficult to determine, but ordering those companies that made the top ten, especially the top five, did prove quite difficult. In the end we settled on the rankings you’ll see below and feel very good about where we ranked each company given the criteria mentioned above.
Table of Contents: Top 10 Companies That Support National Parks
Companies That Support National Parks
Top 10 Companies That Support National Parks
10. Carhartt
Carhartt is a clothing brand known for its rugged workwear – which coincidentally is great for national park adventures. You may not have known that the company is also a major supporter of the National Park Foundation.
That’s right, Carhartt is the primary supporter of the National Park Foundation’s Communities and Workforce Initiative.
This initiative has provided on-the-job training in America’s national parks while restoring habitat, removing trash, and working on critical projects in more than 50 parks.
You can learn more about Carhartt’s support for national parks here.
9. Tom’s of Maine
Tom’s of Maine is a certified B-Corp famous for it’s natural personal care products like deodorant and toothpaste.
While they go to great lengths to make their products all-natural, eco-friendly, and effective, you may not have known that they also go to great lengths to support conservation efforts on America’s public lands.
In the past few years Tom’s of Maine has committed over $1.5 million to The Nature Conservancy to help protect and restore America’s waterways.
They have also donated extensively to the National Park Foundation and in 2021 launched a $3 million campaign entitled Get Into Nature, “rooted in funding outdoor recreation to give young people from underrepresented communities equitable access to the outdoors and nature.”
You can learn more about Tom’s of Maine and their commitment helping protect and improve access to the outdoors on their website here.
8. Tupperware
I’ll bet you didn’t know that this storied reusable storage container company is also one of the top donors to the National Park Foundation.
That’s right, Tupperware Brands has been working with the National Park Foundation to make park infrastructure more environmentally friendly and sustainable. One of the primary ways they’ve done this is by installing over 65 water refilling stations throughout the National Park System.
You can learn more about Tupperware Brands commitment to the national parks here.
7. The Coca-Cola Company
While we can certainly debate the merits of the sugary beverage industry, you can’t debate Coca-Cola’s longstanding support for America’s national parks.
Coca-Cola is a top supporter of the National Park Foundation providing major funding that supports a vast array of projects benefiting the national parks. In addition to NPF, Coca-Cola provides major funding for water conservation efforts led by The Nature Conservancy and supports efforts by the Trust for Public Land to increase access to parks in the Atlanta area.
To learn more about The Coca-Cola Company’s charitable contributions to the environment visit their foundation website here.
6. Parks Project
Parks Project is a national parks-themed apparel company that was founded in 2014 and has seen meteoric growth since then. Since its inception the company has been all about supporting the national parks.
To date the company has donated more than $2 million to support America’s national parks through various charities including the National Park Foundation, NPCA, and the Sierra Club.
For a company of in the neighborhood of 20 employees they’re contribution to the national parks has been colossal. You can learn more about Parks Project’s commitment to the national parks here.
Top 5 Companies That Support National Parks
5. Nature Valley
This one may not be a surprise given the granola company’s longstanding outdoors-focused marketing.
Nevertheless consumers of these tasty granola bars will be glad to hear that Nature Valley is a major donor to the National Park Foundation and the National Parks Conservation Association. And when I say major donor, I mean major.
Nature Valley has donated over $4 million to the NPCA over the last 10 years and is one of the top donors to the National Park Foundation donating untold millions. Their donations tend to focus on trail restoration which is pretty awesome for those of us who enjoy hiking in the parks.
So next time you reach for a granola bar consider Nature Valley and know that a portion of your purchase is likely to end up restoring or maintaining a trail that you enjoy. For more on Nature Valley’s contributions to the national parks visit their website here.
4. L.L. Bean
L.L. Bean is a storied Maine-based retailer known for it’s top quality outdoor gear. The company has a long history of giving back to the outdoors and is well known and well regarded as a major supporter of the national parks.
L.L. Bean is one of the top 3 contributors to the National Park Foundation giving in excess of $1 million dollars. They are also major contributors to the Trust for Public Land in addition to numerous other outdoor-related charities.
L.L. Bean is a major supporter of Acadia National Park in their home state of Maine providing the park with eco-friendly buses to alleviate traffic and help get visitors around the park. Their contributions to the National Park Foundation are longstanding and have focused on updating parks, outreach to children and families, and providing parks with additional resources.
You can learn more about L.L. Bean’s support for national parks here.
3. REI Co-Op
It was a close race between our #4 and #3 positions, but in the end we had to give the edge to REI for the incredible breadth of their outdoor charitable giving. The sheer number of different outdoor charities and projects REI supports on a yearly basis is pretty incredible and a testament to the company’s stewardship ethos.
REI of course is a Seattle-based outdoor retailer specializing in all things camping, backpacking, and hiking. They are major donors to the National Park Foundation and the Trust for Public Land in addition to the myraid of grants and donations they dole out to smaller outdoor-focused charities.
Of note, former REI CEO Sally Jewell became the Secretary of the Interior under President Obama and helped usher in a wave of land and water conservation during his administration.
To learn more about REI’s commitment of giving back to the outdoors visit their website here.
2. Patagonia
Of course you knew Patagonia was going to be on here. The venerable outdoor retailer has been involved in environmental issues practically since its inception thanks to its eco-minded founders. Since 1985 the company has donated over $100 million to “grantees working on issues in the areas of land, water, climate, communities, and biodiversity.”
But we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize Patagonia’s major shift toward environmental activism and public lands protection under the direction of former CEO Rose Marcario. Under Marcario’s leadership Patagonia took bold stances in defense of public lands and committed more resources than ever to supporting environmental protection in areas of critical need.
Today Patagonia continues to make headlines for it’s environmental activism and is a leading player in the protection of America’s public lands.
1. Subaru
You probably knew that Subaru supported the outdoors in some way, but I’ll bet you didn’t know that they are far and away the biggest corporate supporter of America’s national parks.
That’s right, Subaru has donated more than $55 million since 2013 to the National Park Foundation alone. They are also a major supporter of the National Parks Conservation Association and Leave No Trace.
For decades Subaru has carefully crafted an image as a caring company that supports their employees and the environment. When it comes to the national parks we can safely say Subaru puts its money where its mouth is.
You can learn more about Subaru’s extensive contributions to the national parks here.
List of the Top 10 Companies That Support National Parks
- Subaru
- Patagonia
- REI
- L.L. Bean
- Nature Valley
- Parks Project
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Tupperware
- Tom’s of Maine
- Carhartt
Companies That Support National Parks Summary
Well that’s a wrap! We’re very interested to hear which companies surprised you on this list and who you think we might have left out! So please drop us a comment below and let us know! We’ll be updating this list every year.
Further Reading:
We’ve Got National Parks Ranked – All 63 US National Parks Ranked From Best to Worst
And National Monuments Ranked – All 130 National Monuments Ranked
Not To Mention National Park Gifts – The Best National Park Gifts for People Who Love the National Parks
Or National Parks Books: 45 BEST National Parks Books
And Camping Gifts Too – The 32 Best Camping Gifts
companies that support national parks, businesses that support national parks, national parks companies, national park businesses, national park donors, biggest national park donors, companies that donate the most to national parks, businesses that donate to national parks, companies that donate to national parks, companies that benefit national parks, businesses that benefit national parks, subaru national parks, national park foundation subaru, donors to national parks, who donates to national parks, who donates most to national parks, biggest national park contributors, biggest supporters of the national parks, national park grants, national park donors
Thanks for this info. But recently I have seen several companies selling t-shirts on Facebook that appear to be National Park supporters (loveourparks.com, us-nationalparks.org). They use the park service arrow head emblem and imply that they are some type of supporter, but their info doesn’t speak to what they do. Are they legitimate?
Great catch! No I don’t believe they are. The use of the arrowhead is strictly controlled.