As an employee of REI, I respect your views and your freedom to choose another place of business to purchase your outdoor equipment.

I do feel that REI is a corporation unlike many others, yes they are a business and making money is ultimately one of their main goals, but I feel they are a more ethical company than many out there and are stewards for the enviroment.

Every year they donate millions of dollars to the outdoors, many of which are donated locally to parks and organizations that maintain the trails we all hike on everyday. They are working to become more eco-friendly all the time and are an example for over 3 million active members of the co-op. They do have room for improvement just as any company does in our society today.

For me, the most important thing is that people get out and enjoy and learn to respect the enviroment. There are always going to be poeple that don't respect the outdoors and at REI we strive to teach them the correct ways by doing Leave No Trace clinics and such.

Now, did you mention that you like to hike "off-trail"? Well, doesn't that damage the enviroment even more? If people start making their own trails and begin tromping through the woods, the damage to the ecosystems could be catastrophic. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.