In a world of influencers, social media, and fast fashion, it seems rather than consuming fashion it’s fashion that’s consuming us. Pushed at us from all angles and pouring into landfills, suffocating under-developed countries, fast fashion has taken over our lives and our planet. Amongst all of this, one company managed to forge an ethical, eco-friendly clothing line before the climate crisis was completely upon us. Patagonia strive to push that ethos to this day.
The Patagonia philosophy has been key to its success and is very much a part of founder Yvon Chouinard’s life. Often ahead of his time, Chouinard was a climber at a time before the sport was particularly popular, especially in California where he was brought up. It was this passion that would lead him to create one of the first truly sustainable, organic clothing companies.
Environmentally conscious from a young age, Chouinard became aware that his climbing equipment was harming the rock so, as he would continue to, he did something about it. Creating and selling his own line of pitons gave Chouinard the freedom to immerse himself in his passion. He would climb by day and forge pitons by night, selling them to the climbing community he was a part of. It was the climbing community that would eventually change his life forever.
Along with a group, Chouinard went to Scotland in 1970 on a winter climbing expedition. It was here that he saw an item that was to be the spark of Patagonia: a rugby shirt. Upon inspecting the shirt, the Californian realised it would be perfect climbing attire: hardwearing, breathable, and the high collar would protect from the ropes chafing the climber’s neck. Taking a rugby shirt back to California would accidentally start a fashion craze in the climbing community that would soon become the standard.
Demand for the shirts was such that Chouinard would soon have to start ordering internationally to meet orders. Within two years he had expanded the clothing range to include hats, raincoats, and gloves. So rapid did word spread that by 1973 Patagonia was born. The opening of Patagonia stores was what started the company’s life long mission to save the planet and dedicate itself to sustainability and ethical practice.
In one of the Patagonia stores the employees had a problem with headaches. Such is Chouinard’s commitment that he closed the store and hired a chemical engineer to find the root of the problem. Poor ventilation in the store was part of the issue, but mainly because of the clothes themselves. Formaldehyde used in the growing of cotton was effectively poisoning the air. Immediately fitting greater ventilation Chouinard also changed the production of his clothing which is when Patagonia would become one of the first companies to exclusively use organically grown cotton.
This move into natural production would bring prices up but Patagonia’s focus was on the economy. In the world of fashion and industry centred around money this would be met with scepticism. That scepticism would continue but Patagonia have continued to prove their commitment to creating a better planet. In the early 00s they launched a now-famous DON’T BUY THIS JACKET campaign which aimed to tackle fast fashion and over-consumption. Many people saw it as a mere marketing ploy and, in reality, sales did increase off the back of it.
Patagonia however have continued to prove their eco-friendly, sustainable status and by 2017 had launched their very own Worn Wear section in which people could send old Patagonia products to be fixed and resold and in turn they would receive store credit. Patagonia’s good intention intackling climate issues and spreading the word of environmental issues has now transferred into the handing over of the company to the earth itself. Best summed up in a statement from the company’s website:
“September 14, 2022, the Earth becomes our only shareholder. Nearly 50 years after Yvon Chouinard began his experiment in responsible business, ownership of Patagonia is transferred to two new entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust and the nonprofit Holdfast Collective. Every dollar that is not reinvested into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet. “Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source,” said Chouinard. “I am dead serious about saving this planet.”