Why L.L. Bean is going dark on social media this month

As Mental Health Awareness Month begins, L.L. Bean is halting its social media for the first time and instead encouraging customers to go outside. Beginning today, the Freeport, Maine-based retailer will wipe its Instagram feed and stop posting on any social accounts until the end of the month.

The moves are part of a first-time partnership with Mental Health America, an organization that promotes mental wellness, that will last two years. L.L. Bean will also donate $500,000 as a grant to help with community-based outdoor programs, and is commissioning research around the potential benefits of time spent in the outdoors for mental health.

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L.L. Bean typically posts to social media on a daily basis. A spokeswoman said the retailer’s social media community “is a significant part of our marketing function.” The brand intends to still engage with customers on product questions behind the scenes through direct messages, she said. The retailer intends to add a single post today about resources consumers can use to enhance their outdoor experience—such resources include articles around walks to boost mental wellness and the power of forest bathing, as well as a Get Outside Guide.

Indeed, several studies have emerged in recent years linking social media usage to depression and anxiety—issues that have only increased during the last two years of the pandemic. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been shown to be potentially harmful for teens and younger consumers.

L.L. Bean’s decision to get off the digital grid and encourage outdoor activity is reminiscent of moves to encourage more time outdoors by other brands. In 2015, REI famously announced it would close for Black Friday, the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and urge customers to go outside instead. That “OptOutside” campaign, which is ongoing for REI, spawned similar movements and a focus on the benefits of outdoor sports and nature. Like L.L. Bean, REI has examined links between time spent outdoors and human wellbeing.

The Mental Health Awareness initiative was developed internally, with L.L. Bean’s in-house agency developing all creative.