YETI is under fire this week after barring a conservative group from buying its product in a raw political stance. Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women (CBL) previously had cups made with its logo, but YETI now says that it was a mistake.
Kimberly Begg, the president of the northern Virginia-based women's organization told Fox Business that YETI suddenly cancelled its order for its signature seafoam mugs after the order was placed and after they paid $1,608.
She said that the use of the the phrase “conservative women” was on the “political aisle.”
A YETI spokesperson told Fox Business:
“Starting with our first customized Rambler® Drinkware in 2015, we’ve used our best efforts to create and adhere to a policy that prevents customizing products aligned with any political affiliations or organizations in addition to content that could be considered obscene, vulgar, profane, discriminatory, defamatory, or hateful.”
It is not clear how this policy has been applied and whether CBL was barred as political or hateful or other criteria. I am assuming that the word “conservative” triggered the response.
Even assuming that this is evenly applied, how is “political” defined? Does this mean that the Democratic party or pro-choice groups also are stuck with cold coffee?
There are plenty of “political” groups that buy YETIs that do not have “liberal” or “conservative” in their names. Many contribute to elections or engage in lobbying. A wide range of groups have “political affiliations or organizations.” These are generally non-for-profits engaged in free speech activities. Selling them a YETI cup is no more of an endorsement than their buying hats made by Custom Ink.
The YETI policy seems hopelessly subjective and potentially . . . you guessed it . . . political.
