Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s documentary film ‘Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy’ explores the impact of the enormous production of consumer brands on the environment and climate through some of the most prominent activists in the field, including Maren Costa. For fifteen years, she was an integral part of the Seattle headquarters of the e-commerce giant Amazon. Her efforts to motivate the company to establish a plan to tackle climate change played a significant role in forming the organization Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ). Her voice was crucial for Amazon to announce a carbon offset plan, but her time at the company didn’t last long.
Amazon Fired Maren Costa for Violating Internal Policies
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maren Costa, a principal user experience designer, joined Emily Cunningham to voice out against the conditions of the Amazon warehouses. She claimed that her colleagues were “[struggling] to get consistent, sufficient protections and procedures from our employer” and agreed to match donations up to $500 made in their names with Cunningham. In addition to the claim, she retweeted several criticisms about the e-commerce giant’s handling of the pandemic. On April 10, 2020, nearly two weeks after she made this allegation, Maren and Cunningham were fired from the company.
According to Maren, an HR representative told her that the decision to terminate her employment was made for breaking internal policies such as the external communications policy and no solicitation policy. As per Amazon spokesperson Drew Herdener, the policies didn’t allow employees to “disparage or misrepresent” the e-commerce giant publicly. The designer observed that she was fired “in an attempt to silence” her, along with other leaders in the company who had been highly critical of its actions in the wake of the pandemic. In April 2021, the National Labor Relations Board found that Maren and Cunningham were fired illegally, forcing Amazon to settle with them.
According to the settlement, Amazon had to pay Maren and Cunningham their back wages and post a notice that states, “Amazon can’t fire workers for organizing and exercising their rights.” They saw the settlement as “a win for protecting workers’ rights,” as per The New York Times. Even though her firing turned her life around, Maren didn’t regret voicing for her colleague against her employer. In a statement made at the time of her firing, she made it clear that it was important to “stand up for what we believe in” and demand “a basic decency” from the corporations.
Maren Costa Joined Microsoft After Her Exit From Amazon
After her time at Amazon came to an end, Maren Costa focused on climate justice as an activist and speaker. She participated in several conferences, forums, and festivals, such as The Drop Festival in Malmö, Sweden. The designer worked as a freelancer during this period, which lasted around a year. In March 2021, Maren joined Microsoft as a principal design lead in the Design, Experiences & Devices division. Under her supervision, a team focused on building digital consumer products that combined design and technology with policies concerning justice and a sustainable future. She was also integral in turning Bing into the first search engine with ethical shopping filters.
During her tenure at Microsoft, Maren joined the nonprofit organization As You Sow to unravel the climate impacts of the company’s employee retirement funds. According to her, a large share of funds associated with the 401(k) plan at the tech giant were invested in fossil fuel companies that adversely affect climate change. Her efforts aimed to motivate Microsoft to “offer employees a sustainable and ethical 401(k).” In February 2023, Maren concluded her time at the company after announcing herself as a candidate running for Seattle City Council. In the District 1 primary elections, she emerged as the candidate with the most votes, with a share of 33.13%.
Maren Costa Lost the Seattle City Council Election to Rob Saka
For eleven months in 2023, Maren Costa ran an election campaign focused on climate justice and workers’ rights. She promised her prospective voters that she would expand the reliability of public transit and EV charging infrastructure. The activist also wanted to establish electric heat pumps in buildings across the city with the help of environmental groups that fight for state and federal subsidies to make a transition possible. Maren’s campaign heavily focused on turning Seattle into a green hub with improved tree cover and urban forests and a city with enormous renewable power generation.
After the primary election, Maren and Rob Saka advanced to the council elections from District 1. All six candidates who didn’t advance endorsed the former, along with labor unions such as the United Food and Commercial Workers and Service Employees International Union. She also received endorsements from the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the National Women’s Political Caucus, and the Seattle Dispatchers Guild. During the campaign, she claimed that her opponent was backed by “big money” from “big biz,” adding that the individual won’t commit to taxes that affect his backers.
Maren eventually lost the general election with 15,431 votes (45.46%) to Saka with 18,382 votes (54.15%). After the result was declared, she accused that “billionaires invested almost 500k to beat” her. Despite her defeat, she remains a prominent voice in Seattle through her activism. She attends various events and protests regarding climate change and justice organized across the city. In 2024, she endorsed Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who ran for Position 8 of the Seattle City Council. Ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election, Maren also backed Kamala Harris, accusing Donald Trump of “[vowing] to gut climate rules.”
Maren Costa is a Mother of Two Who Fights for a Better Future for Her Kids
Maren Costa is a mother of two teenagers and reportedly a divorcee. She was motivated to be a climate justice activist to ensure that her children will be able to live on a better planet as a responsible and concerned mother. Maren has always been able to draw motivation from her beloved family to fight for our environment. “I have kids. That was a huge motivation for why I was willing to take the risk — moms are willing to take risks for their kids. What bigger risk is there than if they don’t have a future that they can reliably look forward to?” she explained to GeekWire in January 2023.
Even though Maren has been extremely private about her children since she became a prominent activist, she has frequently mentioned them as the source of inspiration behind her crucial and constant voice for our planet’s sustainable growth. She has been tirelessly working to build a better and sustainable future by joining hands with companies and organizations such as Karma Wallet, Power Bloom Solar Inc., Carbon Zero Financial, and WorkforClimate. At the end of the day, Maren is a mother who doesn’t want her children to suffer on an unlivable planet, which makes her a highly relatable activist.
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