Outlaw Stands For...
We Outlaws are a diverse bunch, so defining a unified perspective is something of a paradox, but we're comfortable living in the gray zone. To us, it's the Outlaw zone.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." - The Declaration of Independence
We've heard it so many times that it barely registers as a revolutionary concept, and yet it is the foundation of Outlaw's ethos.
This means we support the expansion of the enjoyment of life, the promotion of personal choice, and the exploration of happiness. We support kindness and tolerance. We build bridges among unlikely allies. We celebrate that which makes us different, because our difference is what makes this country great.
This means that we do not require people to purchase our products in order to be part of our Outlaw gang. Membership is not conditional on anything other than the shared practice of respect, kindness, and integrity.
It isn't enough to believe in those things if we're not actively working to further those principles.
And yes, this makes us an unusual company, but again, we live in the Outlaw zone.
This means we are no friend to people who seek to restrict or extinguish the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of any person on the basis of any trait given by God (or a higher power, or random chance... whichever you believe).
To be 100% clear: Nazis have no place with Outlaw. Nazis do not promote life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness; they seek to extinguish it. Militant groups, as a whole, are not acting in benefit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for their fellow countrymen. Militant groups have nothing to do with Outlaw.
Our country and our company was founded on a respect for others, as we best are able to understand and express it.
When our country was founded, equality was not understood in the same way it is understood now. And in 100 years, we will hopefully have a greater understanding of equality still.
This is our gray zone. This is our Outlaw zone.
We know we live in the wilderness. We are always open, always curious, and always learning. We know there are never simple answers when humans are involved, because humans are wonderfully and endlessly fascinating and complex creatures. We evolve and learn. We're self-aware. It's possibly our best character trait.
We Are Not Political
We know that Outlaw is not just a personal care and home fragrance company. Outlaw is a way of looking at this amazing life that we are given, both individually and collectively. "Live Outlaw" is a life motto for those who choose to adopt it!
Outlaw, this company and our customers, are individuals... AMAZINGLY diverse individuals!
As individuals, we have different approaches to politics. Some of us are very politically active, and some of us prefer to live our own lives outside of politics.
In my personal experience, as the co-founder of this company, I have found politics overall to be desperately over-simplified. It is the unfortunate but seemingly inevitable side effect of mass-governing millions of individuals with individual needs and individual perspectives. Law is not "one size fits all."
We will not commit to one political ideology. It may be necessary to mass-apply regulations and viewpoints in the governing of people, but we are not in the business of governing people.
Our only business is helping people feel most themselves in everything they do. The vehicle we have chosen to pursue this mission is scent.
Our only interest is in promoting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as we can, in our tiny little corner of the business world.
Charitable Donations
From time to time, we give to charity.
We believe that we are responsible for donating to charities that our customers would support. In the past, we have supported such charities as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), K9s for Warriors, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Box of Rain project to provide showers to people without homes.
We do not contribute to political organizations or politically divisive causes because we do not feel it honors the diverse customer base we serve. I believe it is our responsibility to use our customers' money in the way they would want us to use it (or at least not in ways they wouldn't want us to use it).
We Hope You Decide to Join Outlaw
Vote with your dollars. It's how business runs.
Outlaw is a company for the people, by the people.
We do our best to have a different kind of company based on integrity, respect, and sustainability.
If Outlaw is not what you are looking for, no hard feelings. We hope you will choose not to interfere with the world we are building.
If Outlaw is what you're looking for, welcome to our gang! It's good to have you!
This was written by Danielle Vincent, co-founder and CEO of Outlaw, on November 29, 2021, and updated on July 4, 2022 to include emphasis on practicing the values we promote.