Patagonia has distinguished itself as manufacturer of high quality outdoor wear. The company has developed its business philosophy based on sustainable practices. Its status as a privately-held company (not a corporation responsible to shareholders) has allowed it to pursue goals beyond profit - They state that they are "In Business for the Good of the Planet." Their approach to sourcing materials, marketing, and innovative product design is what defines them. They have worked to carefully craft a company and consumer culture that reflects these principles.

Some of the strategies and approaches that Patagonia has implemented are:

Text from Patagonia’s Black Friday Ad, The New York Times, 2012

It’s Black Friday, the day in the year retail turns from red to black and starts to make real money. But Black Friday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We’re now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet.

Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time—and leave a world inhabitable for our kids—we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.

Environmental bankruptcy, as with corporate bankruptcy, can happen very slowly, then all of a sudden. This is what we face unless we slow down, then reverse the damage. We’re running short on fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, wetland—all our planet’s natural systems and resources that support business, and life, including our own. 

The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2® Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste. 

And this is a 60% recycled polyester jacket, knit and sewn to a high standard; it is exceptionally durable, so you won’t have to replace it as often. And when it comes to the end of its useful life we’ll take it back to recycle into a product of equal value. But, as is true of all the things we can make and you can buy, this jacket comes with an environmental cost higher than its price. There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don’t buy what you don’t need. Think twice before you buy anything.

Common Threads Initiative

1. Identify the type of consumer Patagonia is targeting with their "Don't buy this jacket" ad: Eco-warrior, Eco-fan, Eco-phobe, or Eco-Champion?  Outline why this ad would appeal to that type of consumer.

2. Identify the sustainability strategies that Patagonia and the Common Threads Initiative are using. Describe these strategies.

3. Discuss why a company might produce an LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) of a product. 

4. Identify and Describe the waste mitigation strategies that Patagonia is using.

5. Outline strategies Patagonia might use to further reduce the environmental impact of the manufacture, use, and end-of-life of the jacket.

6. Outline the environmental impacts of textile production.

7. Explain how sustainability reporting is used by a company and consumers.

8. Identify if Patagonia's sustainability strategy is bottom-up or top-down.  Outline the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy for the company and its consumers.

Design challenge:

1. Select a product. Outline how might we improve the sustainability of the product by changing the way users use and dispose it.

• Patagonia website and online store.

• Fighting Fast Fashion: article outlining how companies are responding to the sustainability issues arising from fast fashion.

Recommended Reading:

• Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard