Patagonia
CASE STUDY
Created by Redress
Patagonia
Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company with a mission to “build the best product; cause no unnecessary harm; use business to inspire; and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
In this case study, we will explore and discuss why Patagonia designs their products to last, and encourages care and repair for longevity.
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
Patagonia “believe in extending their mission to cause no unnecessary harm to every area where Patagonia has influence.” In order to achieve this, they have developed a progressive set of programmes and initiatives aimed at different stakeholders, including: [1]
Reducing the environmental impact of the company and supply chain
Supporting grassroots activists through grants
Using the company voice to advocate for systemic change
Empowering the customers by making quality products that can be repaired
Supporting regenerative practices in ranching and agriculture
Envisioning a new approach to business.
1. FOOTPRINT CHRONICLES
Patagonia launched one such initiative called the Footprint Chronicles in 2007. Their goal is to use transparency in their product supply chain to drive the business forward and reduce their adverse social and environmental impacts. They also hope to stimulate a dialogue in the fashion and apparel industry, and some of their measures to reduce the impact can be adopted on an industrial scale.
Patagonia has made information available on their website about the company’s global operations and suppliers (for example, textile mills, factories, and farms). They communicate both the positive and negative aspects openly to their customers. They demonstrate the good work they do but also let customers know what they need to do better and are working to improve upon.
For each product, customers have full visibility of which supplier is involved, and where the item has been made. They can view the performance of factories and any programmes implemented, such as skills training for workers, up-cycling, and carbon neutral apparel, allowing consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing a product.
Image credit: Patagonia
One example is Patagonia Men’s Lightweight Synchilla® Snap-T® Hoody, as you can see from this slide which outlines the three suppliers it visits before it reaches the consumer.
Image credit: Patagonia
One example is Patagonia Men’s Lightweight Synchilla® Snap-T® Hoody, as you can see from this slide which outlines the three suppliers it visits before it reaches the consumer.
Image credit: Patagonia
One example is Patagonia Men’s Lightweight Synchilla® Snap-T® Hoody, as you can see from this slide which outlines the three suppliers it visits before it reaches the consumer.
Additionally, Patagonia has a Reference Library providing information for those interested in learning more about the sourcing of various textiles which the company uses. This sharing of tools, resources and systems for environmentally sound business models generally occurs from passionate committed organisations, who put collective industry progress before proprietary information.
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
2. WORN WEAR PROGRAM
Another prominent initiative is the Worn Wear program, which Patagonia started in 2013. They wanted to further reduce the negative footprint of their own products by keeping them in action for longer and reducing the pressure on the planet, realising that they needed to inspire and empower consumers to change their relationships with the things they owned.
The initiative has three key elements:
REPAIR
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
Image credit: Patagonia
They encourage the repair of items when they break, over the purchase of new. They have a dedicated repair centre with 45 full-time repair technicians in Nevada who complete approximately 40,000 repairs per year, with repairs taking place in just 30 business days.
They also wanted to enable their customers to self-repair so they partnered with iFixit to create repair guides with clear instructions.
Patagonia believes that laundering, ironing and drying can shorten the life of clothes as much as wearing them does. Therefore they provide care instructions on products as well as information on their website on how to wash and manage products to avoid damage.
RECYCLING AND UP-CYCLING
Patagonia encourages recycling and up-cycling of worn out goods, where users can mail or drop-off items at any Patagonia and selected partner retail stores. Since 2004, they have recycled or up-cycled 82 tons of Patagonia products into new and beautiful items. For example, one of the factories up-cycles board shorts and outerwear shells into bags and pouches.
REUSE
Patagonia sells their used branded clothing at the Portland retail store. They also encourage customers to pass on clothing to others when they have finished with it. They partnered with Yerdle, a reuse platform which provides a credit system to encourage this.
Through all of these initiatives, Patagonia is encouraging their consumers to buy less and take better care of, and be responsible for the end-of-life of their garments. The business has not suffered from this approach, but instead has attracted loyal brand advocates.