Protestors demonstrated at L.L. Bean headquarters in Freeport on Wednesday morning, calling for the recreation brand to divest from Citibank. Photo courtesy of Third Act Maine

Protestors from Third Act Maine, a group of Mainers over age 60 against climate change, handed a nationwide petition to L.L. Bean early Wednesday morning, calling for the outdoor recreation brand to divest from Citibank.

On Aug. 7, about nine demonstrators gathered outside L.L. Bean’s corporate offices in Freeport, holding signs that condemned the company’s link to fossil fuels through its partnership with Citibank, Bean’s credit card provider. Protestors then attempted to deliver a petition from the “Summer of Heat” campaign  a nationwide initiative to divest from fossil fuels — that has been signed by 6,987 people.

Third Act Maine activist Bill Rixon said that after protesting for about an hour, demonstrators walked toward the corporate headquarters to deliver the petition letter around 8:30 a.m. They were met outside by a security officer for the company, who Rixon said promised to deliver the petition to CEO Stephen Smith.

Following the Freeport demonstration, he said activists traveled to Portland, where they delivered similar petition letters to AT&T, Home Depot, Best Buy, Macy’s and Costco. Rixon reported that petitions were passed off to managers at the stores with the hopes that the letter would be moved up the chain.

The petition is part of a nationwide effort to target Citibank’s largest clients, including Costco, Macy’s and Home Depot. From Aug. 5 to 12, activists aim to deliver the petitions to as many businesses as possible. The campaign, which originated in New York, seeks to put pressure on Citibank to divest from fossil fuels.

The “Summer of Heat” campaign is a coalition of organizations, Rixon said. The website for the initiative states that the effort entails a whole season of civil disobedience targeting “Wall Street and big banks for their role in fueling the climate crisis.”

Rixon said that Third Act Maine is also working on its own petition that focuses on gathering signatures just within Maine.

The letter for this petition demands that L.L. Bean publicly ask its credit card provider to stop investing in new fossil fuel projects and, if it does not do so, to find a new credit card provider with greener initiatives. It also asks for the company to work with representatives of Third Act Maine to explore solutions that benefit everyone.

Rixon, who has long protested at L.L. Bean headquarters, said that the group plans to continue its demonstrations outside of the company.

“I think that the people at L.L. Bean are starting to hear,” Rixon said. He noted that during he dozens of times protesting outside the building, employees will sometimes give him a thumbs up or a wave.

“I’m sure there are conversations going on within the building amongst the employees,” he said. “So I think that gradually there’s gonna be a shift of feeling within the administration at L.L. Bean, and hopefully they’re going to do the right thing.”

“Company leadership regularly communicates our values and expectations to Citibank, which continues to be a strong business partner,” said Jason Sulham, manager of public affairs for L.L. Bean. “The benefits afforded to us by the L.L.Bean Mastercard program in turn help us increase the ways in which we are able to support environmental and conservation initiatives. This includes establishing the L.L.Bean PFAS Solutions Research Program at the University of Maine and contributing $3 million to the National Park Foundation to support their Parks of the Future initiative, with additional support being given to Acadia National Park and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.”

Sulham said L.L. Bean as eliminated 600,000 pounds of plastic packaging per year from its operations by shifting to recyclable paper packaging and is working to reduce its carbon footprint, including cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2025.  L.L. Bean also installed electric vehicle charging stations at its flagship store and headquarters and is funding solar Maine solar projects, Sulham added.

“That is just small sample of the environmental benefits that our L.L.Bean Mastercard program helps to enable and what is an unequivocal net positive for all of our stakeholders that no current alternative can provide,” Sulham said.