Patagonia

Patagonia is founded on the notion that climate change requires systems change and a shift in our approach to business. They are reimagining what it means to be a profit-making company in the 21st Century. There has long been this assumption that profits cannot co-exist with positive social and environmental change. The system of capitalism is profit-motivated tending to instil a sense of apathy towards the planetary impact of business ventures. In recent years, however, the term ‘green capitalism’ has gained traction: this notion that corporations can be ‘successful’ without having harmful environmental impacts. While Patagonia is by no means the first to engage in ‘green capitalism’, this appeal for wider systems change (accompanied by their direct action championing environmental stewardship and social responsibility) sets a precedent for others to follow.

Their self-imposed ‘Earth tax’ redirects 1% of annual net revenues to supporting non-profit organisations and projects helping to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges. To minimise waste, Patagonia have a repair portal where customers are able to access repair services & request spare parts, prolong product lifecycles. One of the key motivations for this provision is addressing the concept of ‘built obsolescence’. Through their operations, Patagonia hope to demonstrate that the model of production -> consumption -> disposal is inherently unsustainable. In the run-up to Christmas 2012, Patagonia famously fronted a marketing campaign with ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’. While seemingly counter-productive, this marketing strategy encouraged customers to consider the impact of their purchases, instead promoting the re-using and repairing of products, or acquiring second-hand - if at all! The onus, then, is on quality of design and durability as opposed to novelty.

How Patagonia aim to reduce their environmental impact:

• Design products with durability in mind

• Facilitate and improve access to product repairs

• Utilise materials that are (or can be) reused and recycled

• Minimise environmental (and social) impacts at all stages of the supply chain (from acquiring the raw materials to reducing GHG emissions during production)

• Forging a bidirectional relationship with customers, holding one another accountable and making the provenance of products as transparent as possible.

Images Copyright - Patagonia

Patagonia.com

References

Allchin, J. (2014) Case study: Patagonia's 'Don't Buy this Jacket' campaign, Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/case-study-patagonias-dont-buy-this-jacket-campaign/ (Accessed: December 31, 2022). 

Annual Benefit Corporation Report - Patagonia (2021) (no date) Patagonia. Available at: https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dw18ad9c7c/PDF-US/Patagonia-2021-BCorp-Report-Updated-2-15-22.pdf (Accessed: December 31, 2022). 

Kila, K. (no date) Corporations and Climate Change: ‘Green Capitalism’ as a tool for Sustainable Development, University of Exeter. Available at: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/research/microsites/exeterenergy/Corporations_and_Sustainable_Energy-_Kikelomo_O_Kila.pdf (Accessed: December 31, 2022).