Patagonia (clothing)
Encyclopedia
Patagonia, Inc. is a Ventura, California
-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental
movements. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard
in 1972.
The logo is the skyline of Cerro Fitzroy looking west in Patagonia.
, campers
, surfers
, hikers
, rock climbers
, and others. Patagonia employs a flex-time policy, allowing employees to take time off to go surfing. One of its main product lines is the Capilene
base layer clothing. Patagonia recently started making surf-specific products, and currently has three different lines of wetsuit
s and many different models of swim trunks.
Though Patagonia is considered to be a sport-specific apparel manufacturer, some of the company's most popular products are general apparel. Patagonia fleece
s, rain jackets, and coat
s are some of the most widely-worn products in the outdoor apparel industry.
Patagonia received two "Gear of the Year" awards in 2010. The company was praised for its use of lightweight and recycled materials.
, whichever is more, to environmental groups. Since 1985, when the program was first started, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1,000 organizations.
Patagonia co-founded the alliance
1% For the Planet. This is an alliance of businesses who, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment.
Patagonia often features their environmental campaigns in their catalogs and advertisements. Many of their recent campaigns include work with preventing oil drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, "Ocean As A Wilderness", and "Don't Dam Patagonia".
In early 2008, Patagonia won the 'Eco Brand of the Year' award at the Volvo Ecodesign Forum during the ISPO Trade Show in Munich.
Patagonia also demonstrates their environmental consciousness in the design and construction of their facilities. An example is their Reno Nevada Service Center which employs green design and technologies to initially achieve a LEED
Silver and then later Gold certification.
and Craig Mathews, its mission is to “build and support an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet.” Members range from small to large companies from all over the world. Spawned from Patagonia’s original policy of contributing 1% of all sales to environmental organizations since 1985, the 1,486 members of 1% For the Planet each contribute 1% of their total sales to over 2,000 different environmental organizations every year.
and James Prosek in 2005, the World Trout Initiative works to protect the endangered fish of the world through grants to organizations that protect threatened fish. The mission of the World Trout Initiative is to “identify the individuals and groups that protect native fish, to tell their story and to support their conservation efforts by placing money into the hands of the actual groups protecting the fish.” In the past year alone the World Trout Initiative has granted $75,000 for Fish and Habitat Enhancement, according to FlyFishMagazine.
, also support the Organic Exchange.
and Kelty
, the Conservation Alliance encourages outdoor sporting goods stores to contribute monetarily to environmental causes. With over 170 members, 100% of the proceeds go directly to environmental organizations. In 2010 alone, the Conservation Alliance donated $900,000 to these causes.
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
movements. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business. His second company, Patagonia is known for its environmental focus...
in 1972.
The logo is the skyline of Cerro Fitzroy looking west in Patagonia.
Sport-Specific Apparel
Patagonia offers many varieties of outdoor clothing. Many of their products are marketed towards skiersSkiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, campers
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, surfers
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, rock climbers
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
, and others. Patagonia employs a flex-time policy, allowing employees to take time off to go surfing. One of its main product lines is the Capilene
Capilene
Capilene is the clothing company Patagonia's name for its polyester material with a hydrophilic surface finish. Capilene's core remains hydrophobic . It is used in thermal underwear and in stretch versions where it has been blended with Lycra. It has since then been added into most of their product...
base layer clothing. Patagonia recently started making surf-specific products, and currently has three different lines of wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...
s and many different models of swim trunks.
Though Patagonia is considered to be a sport-specific apparel manufacturer, some of the company's most popular products are general apparel. Patagonia fleece
Polar fleece
Polar fleece, usually referred to simply as "fleece," is a soft napped insulating synthetic fabric made from Polyethylene terephthalate or other synthetic fibers. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, now Polartec LLC., a new, light and strong pile fabric meant...
s, rain jackets, and coat
Coat (clothing)
A coat is a long garment worn by both men and women, for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of some of these...
s are some of the most widely-worn products in the outdoor apparel industry.
Patagonia received two "Gear of the Year" awards in 2010. The company was praised for its use of lightweight and recycled materials.
Environmental activism
Patagonia is a major contributor to environmental groups. Patagonia commits 1% of their total sales or 10% of their profitProfit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
, whichever is more, to environmental groups. Since 1985, when the program was first started, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1,000 organizations.
Patagonia co-founded the alliance
Business alliance
A business alliance is an agreement between businesses, usually motivated by cost reduction and improved service for the customer. Alliances are often bounded by a single agreement with equitable risk and opportunity share for all parties involved and are typically managed by an integrated project...
1% For the Planet. This is an alliance of businesses who, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment.
Patagonia often features their environmental campaigns in their catalogs and advertisements. Many of their recent campaigns include work with preventing oil drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, "Ocean As A Wilderness", and "Don't Dam Patagonia".
In early 2008, Patagonia won the 'Eco Brand of the Year' award at the Volvo Ecodesign Forum during the ISPO Trade Show in Munich.
Patagonia also demonstrates their environmental consciousness in the design and construction of their facilities. An example is their Reno Nevada Service Center which employs green design and technologies to initially achieve a LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
Silver and then later Gold certification.
Patagonia Initiatives
In every aspect, Patagonia has focused on helping the environment since its inception in 1972. Patagonia’s mission statement includes a portion about helping the environment and reducing toxic impact:“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” Patagonia donates 1% of sales to environmental groups every year, and has encouraged other companies to do the same through its 1% For the Planet alliance. In addition to large global initiatives, Patagonia also supports several smaller initiatives such as the World Trout Initiative, Environmental Internships, the Conservation Alliance, and the Organic Exchange. Recently, Patagonia launched a worldwide recycling initiative called the Common Threads Recycling Program and has a site devoted to the explanation of their recycling process called The Footprint Chronicles.1% For the Planet
1% For the Planet was established in 2002 to bring together companies that wanted to help the environment and to encourage other companies to do the same. Developed by Yvon ChouinardYvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business. His second company, Patagonia is known for its environmental focus...
and Craig Mathews, its mission is to “build and support an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet.” Members range from small to large companies from all over the world. Spawned from Patagonia’s original policy of contributing 1% of all sales to environmental organizations since 1985, the 1,486 members of 1% For the Planet each contribute 1% of their total sales to over 2,000 different environmental organizations every year.
World Trout Initiative
Developed by Yvon ChouinardYvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business. His second company, Patagonia is known for its environmental focus...
and James Prosek in 2005, the World Trout Initiative works to protect the endangered fish of the world through grants to organizations that protect threatened fish. The mission of the World Trout Initiative is to “identify the individuals and groups that protect native fish, to tell their story and to support their conservation efforts by placing money into the hands of the actual groups protecting the fish.” In the past year alone the World Trout Initiative has granted $75,000 for Fish and Habitat Enhancement, according to FlyFishMagazine.
Environmental Internships
A unique program that Patagonia started in 1993 is their Environmental Internships program. A Patagonia employee can take a leave of absence with full pay and benefits to volunteer within an environmental non-profit of their choice for up to two months. Employees can work anywhere in the country on any project they want, and over 700 employees have taken advantage of this opportunity to date. Patagonia does not worry about losing workers for a couple months because, according to Lu Setnicka, director of training for Patagonia, "[Patagonia] still consider[s] that they are working for Patagonia, but they are having the opportunity to bring a particular skill set to an organization that could really benefit from it, in some ways more than it would from a grant check. It also gives the employees the opportunity to dive deeper into an issue, partnering with a group that they are interested in." Patagonia also states that, over the years, some employees have left the company to permanently work for the nonprofit that they interned for.Common Threads Recycling Program
This Common Threads Recycling Program, launched in 2005, aims to make every item Patagonia sells recyclable. The first recyclable item was Patagonia’s Baselayers, but the program has since expanded to several other clothing items. The Common Threads Recycling Program relies on both Patagonia and its customers to accomplish reducing, reusing and repairing, and recycling. The Common Threads Recycling Program allows customers to bring back any Patagonia clothing with the special Common Threads label on it and put it into the store recycling bin. Patagonia then ships the clothing to refurbishment centers around the world where the fabric is processed and turned into a new Patagonia product. This reduces the amount of virgin material used for Patagonia’s products. Patagonia’s original goal was to make all of its clothing recyclable by fall of 2010; however, they will not reach this goal until fall of 2011 according to the Patagonia holiday catalog which features an article about the initiative.The Footprint Chronicles
This interactive website lets a customer follow a specific piece of clothing through its entire journey from production to recycle. The website is meant to give customers a glimpse into what Patagonia is doing, and leaves an open forum for customers to comment and try to make the process even better. The point of the website is to show customers the good and the bad side of Patagonia, and open up to suggestions for how they can improve the processes that are still hurting the environment. The Footprint Chronicles features videos about Patagonia’s social and environmental responsibility and easy-to-use contact information for customers to use.The Organic Exchange
The Organic Exchange is an organization that helps promote education about and use of organic materials in clothing and industry, primarily organic cotton. Patagonia has supported this organization since its establishment in 2002, and Patagonia was one of the first companies to switch to entirely organic cotton. Other large retailers, such as NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, also support the Organic Exchange.
The Conservation Alliance
Founded in 1989 by Patagonia, the North Face, REIRei
-People:*Rei, the Biblical term for those who retained their allegiance to King David when Adonijah rebelled, as mentioned in 1 Kings 1:8*Rei Hiroe*Rei Igarashi*Rei Kawakubo*Rei Kikukawa*Rei Mikamoto*Rei Munakata*Rei Okamoto*Rei Omishi...
and Kelty
Kelty (company)
Kelty is a manufacturer of backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags owned by American Recreation Products. They are based in Boulder, Colorado and were started by Asher "Dick" Kelty Kelty is a manufacturer of backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags owned by American Recreation Products. They are based in...
, the Conservation Alliance encourages outdoor sporting goods stores to contribute monetarily to environmental causes. With over 170 members, 100% of the proceeds go directly to environmental organizations. In 2010 alone, the Conservation Alliance donated $900,000 to these causes.