Patagonia

Patagonia strives for social equality at work. Patagonia currently has an almost 50 – 50 distribution between men and women at work. Last August, the company signed the Equal Pay Pledge, encouraging American companies to ensure their employees receive a fair wage.

According to the Fair Trade Certified sewn label, 88% of Patagonia’s garments are stitched in Asia, mainly in Vietnam and Sri Lanka. This label guarantees fair wages and dignified working conditions. Unfortunately, the situation on cotton plantations, in yarn spinning mills and textile factories is unclear.

Patagonia says that since 2020, living wages have been paid in 39% of the garment factories they work with. Unfortunately, this is not a high percentage. Adding to this, a study by Follow The Money (FTM) revealed in June 2023 that Patagonia also collaborates with ​‘fast-fashion factories’. The report stated that Patagonia works with factories that also produce for big fast-fashion brands such as ASOS and Primark.

According to FTM, workers here are exploited and the factory does not offer fair wages or safe working conditions. Patagonia says this collaboration is an advantage, the brand wants to raise standards across the garment industry by engaging with these factories and introducing their code of conduct there. Unfortunately, by 2023, only 40 per cent of the garment factories in their supply chain are compliant.

In 1994, Patagonia was one of the first fashion companies in the world to switch all their cotton items over to solemnly using organic cotton. This was quite revolutionary because, at that time, there was hardly any organic cotton available. Patagonia worked very closely with their cotton farmers to make the switch happen. Two years later, the brand had replaced all conventionally grown cotton in its collections with organic cotton.

The clothing brand has also been using hemp for a long time already. Hemp is a rare fibre in clothes, and Patagonia was one of the first brands to start using recycled PET bottles in their outdoor jackets and fleece sweaters. The brand also recently started selling knitted jumpers made from recycled wool.

All this shows that Patagonia was a revolutionary company from the start and still is an inspiration for many other companies. All materials they use are extensively researched and tested for quality, functionality and environmental impact.

Patagonia aims to be CO2 neutral by 2025. By then, the brand only wants to use renewable or recycled materials, including recycled polyester and Econyl recycled nylon.

At COSH! we support the use of recycled polyester for outdoor coats or backpacks. We think polyester is not the best option for garments such as fleece and T‑shirts washed more often. This is because of the microplastics that are released during washing. Find out more via this link.

Patagonia (unfortunately) still uses polyester for fleeces and in some T‑shirts. If you buy clothing with polyester, we advise you to use a Guppyfriend during washing!

Patagonia aims to design products that last a long time and are easy to repair. On their website, you can find a repair manual for your clothes and tips on extending your garment’s life. In addition, Patagonia offers a so-called Ironclad Guarantee on all its products. This is a lifetime guarantee that also includes a (free) repair service. When you can no longer use your Patagonia product, you can send it to the brand for recycling.

In the past, the brand explicitly opposed the disposable culture with their advertising campaign ​‘Don’t buy this jacket’. However, this campaign led to more purchases, opposite to their message. A clever marketing ploy on the part of the company. But we at COSH! think it’s great that Patagonia encourages its customers to take good care of their outdoor clothing and to prepare manuals with clear information for this.

The supply chain is hard to trace as many intermediaries are involved, and it is unclear where raw materials are sourced. They offer a map showing the factories, weaving, and spinning mills. Over 60 contracted factories do Patagonia’s manufacturing spread over 16 countries, including the United States, Vietnam, China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Portugal, among others. Therefore the supply chain is long.

In 2015, Greenpeace accused Patagonia of using toxic chemicals in their products. A while later, animal rights organisation PETA confronted the clothing brand with animal-unfriendly practices at an Argentinian sheep farm, where Patagonia sourced its wool from.

As a result, Patagonia stopped all cooperation with the sheep industry and set up its own ​‘Responsible Wool and Down’ standard (RSW label). This list of criteria details what standards purchased wool or down must meet to guarantee animal welfare. Several other companies have already joined today, including H&M and C&A.

Dutch news platform, ​‘One World’, warns that it is too early to say whether the RSW label can guarantee animal welfare. The question also remains: how accessible is certification? Smaller brands and sheep farmers often don’t have the money to be certified despite treating the animals with respect.

Patagonia has good intentions to guarantee animal welfare in their clothing. Still, because of the extended supply chains and many intermediaries, it remains challenging to say with 100% certainty that all wool has been produced in an animal-friendly manner.

This does not only apply to Patagonia but also to any brand that works with the RSW label.

Not only does Patagonia make sustainable outdoor clothing, raincoats and T‑shirts. The brand also actively contributes as an innovator and lobbyist for a sustainable world. They experiment with alternative earning models and started a second-hand market with their clothing. Patagonia also openly expresses its support for the Green New Deal. Every year, the company donates 1% of its turnover to projects that support the planet. Therefore, even if the brand has a bad year, it donates part of its turnover to charity.

Patagonia’s website displays the California Transparency Act. Under each product on the website, it always says in which factory the final product was made. Yet in 2020, we discovered that clothes ​‘made in Thailand’ on the website listed a factory in Japan at the bottom, which is confusing.

You will also find a map on the sustainability page showing the factories, weaving mills, and spinning mills. On the map, you can filter to show the farms where the raw materials come from, but this offers no results (January 2023). In addition, it is not clear whether the list is up-to-date with what is sold. So there is room for improvement in the brand’s transparency.