Social Listening

 I was at work the other day and one of my coworkers showed up in a brand new Carhartt vest. He said it was gifted to him by someone who didn't want it after Carhartt established a vaccine mandate for their employees. Since the mandate, there has been boycotts against the mandate by some of the company's consumers. I was surprised that someone would be willing to give up a brand new vest in order to boycott Carhartt. Carhartt is know for providing quality and durable clothing, and that's not something I would easily give up.

That night, I decided to investigate on twitter to see what other people were saying. The first tweet that popped up said "Say no to @Carhart There are other brands producing great clothing not mandating poison. #DefeatTheMandatesDC" from a Molly Hadit (@Myheartsathome) following a link to other clothing retailers that could provide similar products. The next post said "Finally picked up a new @Carhartt that yesterday #sweatwicking" by K and E (@bandicootboys) with a picture of a brand new hat. Matthew (@Finbino) claimed that "a guy at frys call me a dumbass because i was wearing a Carhartt jacket and a mask on."

When Carhartt put their company mandate in place, they probably did not expect to get boycotted by some of their consumers. The purpose was mainly to create a safe work environment for their employees. When word got out about the mandate though, many people started to take sides and either support or boycott Carhartt. This brought a lot of attention to Carhartt and it appears to be mostly good with many people buying their products to show their support.

After Carhartt was called out for establishing the vaccine mandate, they doubled down and their CEO Mark Valade released a statement saying they stand behind their decision. I think their decisions may not have been intentionally meant to sell their products, but it engaged with a lot of people. The people that are showing their support for Carhartt are mostly new to the company, while a decent chunk of their frequent customers are boycotting them. Carhartt has brought a lot of attention to themselves by going against the ideals of their previously dedicated consumer. Overall, the attention on Carhartt will certainly raise revenue and increase sales, whether consumers buy products to show support or to burn them. Although Carhartt most likely doesn't want to be boycotted, the movement has brought in a lot of paying supporters and free advertising.

If I had to make the decisions for Carhartt, I would have tried to maintain some of the original customer base with an apology but still maintained the mandate. Doing this could potentially lose some of the new business or lessen peoples willingness to support Carhartt. The one thing I have learned from the boycotts of Carhartt is that some decisions can have an unforeseen impact, and standing your ground on a decision can be seen as admirable and bold.