Don't believe in love at first sight? Allow me to introduce you to
Patagonia. They're an outdoor clothing company with this central mission: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." The company is 40 years old, and has integrated environmental considerations into countless aspects of their business, with impressive results. Some of many things that the company does includes donating 1% of sales towards
preservation and restoration of the natural environment on an annual basis, managing a
recycling program for worn-out Patagonia products, and most recently, building a
Gold LEED Certified Service Center in Reno.
The guiding force behind the values that Patagonia seems to intrinsically embody is Yvon Chouinard, a 74 year old "Conquerer of the Useless", and self-described climbing dirtbag. He
never meant to be in business, but ended up there, and has been using his company to make a world of difference in the lives of his employees and his customers. Chouinard is known for the "
Let My People Go Surfing" policy, and even lets his employees participate in an
Environmental Internship program where they can lend their skill to an environmental cause for up to two months while still earning their full salary and benefits.
The company received a large amount of publicity on Black Friday, when they placed an ad in Times Square urging consumers to take a pledge to reduce consumption. Many articles talked about the "marketing genius", even calling it a
PR stunt. But anyone who has been exposed to the company knows that they are not trying to drive short term profits, and they don't need stunts, because they have put their values before profit for the past 40 years. Simply put, they have a loyal customer base because they are authentic, and make high quality gear that survives for a very long time. If you're thinking about purchasing some outdoor gear in the future, you should consider them, but at the very least, I would encourage you to do some more reading about the company. Whether it's about their environmental or management philosophies, we could all learn a lesson or two from Patagonia.
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