Patagonia is everywhere. From puffy jackets to raincoats to any other outdoor apparel you could possibly want. Although Founder Yvon Chouinard’s vision for his company was to make sustainable gear for the explorative mountaineer conquering a rock face, the brand has been adopted by the average-joe because of its style and comfort.
A California-born company, Patagonia has become the West Coast tech bro’s unofficial uniform, littering Silicon Valley and any big city north of Los Angeles with computer junkies dressed for an outdoor adventure. In recent years, it’s made its way over to the East Coast with Wall Street stiffs trying to embrace the new millennial demands of a more casual work environment.
The puffy, down vests worn over a collared shirt sends the message, “My job is cool enough to ditch the tie, but I also make a lot of money.” In recent years, Patagonia has become big tech corporations’ go-to for corporate holiday gifts, slapping their company logos next to the Patagonia badge and dressing their employees in the latest tech fashion.
It’s great for business; Patagonia is booming, surpassing $750 million in sales in 2016 and only climbing from there. The company has dominated the outdoor clothing industry for years, while making sustainable and socially conscious decisions. At this point Patagonia is a lifestyle brand, and the leaders of the company saw it being used as a symbol of clout by people who were not necessarily living up to the morals of the company. Patagonia sees its products being touted by companies who don’t use sustainable practices or are over all not trying to make the world a better place, and in a hope to encourage better practices they’ve decided to break all ties with any corporations who do not uphold morals that align with their mission.
How does a leader choose to eliminate a large portion of revenue and deter a big portion of their consumers, all in the name of their morals?
Most companies would struggle with this decision, and many allow much greater infractions to their mission and vision in the name of profit. But Patagonia has always put their values first. In 1996, Patagonia realized the cotton they were using for their clothing was riddled with pesticides which were not only bad for the environment, but also a health hazard for the manufacturers. They made a switch to only using 100% organic cotton in all their clothing. This meant abandoning a majority of their clothing line and starting over. It was a huge risk, but something they felt morally obligated to do.
In a celebratory company email, leadership said, “Going organic was a difficult decision for us— ethically it made perfect sense, but it was expensive and hard to come by. Today, thanks to you our friends and customers, we’re still selling organic cotton clothing and more and more businesses are making the switch because you voted with your dollars.”
Chipper Bell, a Patagonia brand ambassador for over 25 years, had a large hand in shaping the culture that guides Patagonia to this day. He was around for the creation of the first mission statement: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” He has seen Patagonia move through different phases all guided by their principles and says the values driving their decisions may cost more, but they will always end up being better for business.
Bell believes when you have a passion as strong as Chouinard and his team’s, your mission will guide your practices and the profit will follow if your cause is truly something people believe in. While Patagonia may take a small hit from their latest statement, leadership has seen their customers respond to true values and the leaders at Patagonia are confident in their decision.
