Athletic Apparel

The chart above depicts the percent of contributions in U.S. Dollars donated to Republican and Democrat candidates/parties/affiliated groups, seeking national office during the 2020 election cycle, donated by employees, or owners, of the companies listed, and those individuals' immediate family members, based on data collected from www.opensecrets.org.

In some instances the money was possibly donated by the actual company, but the bulk of it typically comes from individuals within the company, or immediate family members of individuals within the company.  The only way I'm discussing the actual organization is if I reference it as "the organization itself", otherwise, I'm talking about the jargon mentioned above (individuals within the company, owners, employees, direct family, etc.).  In some instances, the money considered contributed may come from PACs affiliated with the mentioned organization.

Momma says you can tell a lot about somebody by their shoes... Well, somebody's mother said something like that.  Anyways, let's dive in.

Nike gave a ton of money to the Democrats.  The organization itself only officially donated to one candidate, a small donation to a Democrat out of Oregon. The largest individual recipient of donations coming from those affiliated with Nike, went to Joe Biden.  89% of their donations, as a collective group of individual contributors, went to Democrats.  What is hilarious about Nike, the Social Justice Warriors of the athletic apparel world, is what I'm going to tell you next!

New Balance is the other company of note.  I refer to them as the Anti-Nike!  Nike racks in around $40 billion annually.  New Balance, on the other hand, only brings in around $4 billion per year.  The incredible thing about New Balance is that you don't hear them getting involved in politics and acting like they're here to save the world.  They make apparel, and they quietly donate as much to Republicans as Nike's employees are donating to Democrats.  One important thing to note is that, New Balance did not contribute from the organization, only individuals within the organization.

You can see for yourself below (in the list provided) the other athletic apparel companies I was able to find (unfortunately I could not find donation histories for Puma or Asics) and where they placed their money.  It is my recommendation that you avoid all of these companies except for New Balance, Saucony, and Brooks.  Not only do those associated with the companies make good political decisions, but I also think each one makes great shoes, so I was elated by these findings.

Democrats on the Left, Republicans on the Right! 

Nike               $1,238,618  $148,108    

Adidas            $7,160          $0    

Under Armour $114,686    $4,642    

New Balance   $36,076    $999,845    

Lululemon       $41,634      $5,390    

Columbia        $347,682    $1,255    

*Saucony         $7,317       $21,193    

**Brooks          $2,665,955 $2,767,395     

***Hoka           $4,677          $0

*Saucony's "parent company" is Wolverine World Wide, meaning that is what you have to search in order to find the history of their financial donations.

**Brooks "parent company" is Berkshire Hathaway, meaning the same as stated above in terms of finding the full set of numbers.  Because Berkshire Hathaway has a ton of subsidiaries, their actual donations are basically hidden into the blender of companies, but I do the best I can with what's avialable.

***Hoka One One is owned by Deckers Outdoor Corporation.

Special Thanks to  https://charts.livegap.com for the website used to make the chart above.