Patagonia

“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” This is the statement of Patagonia.

Patagonia Highlights

one more please!

Fair TradeHow is your clothing made? Patagonia's new short film investigates why choosing Fair Trade Certified clothing is an important first step toward changing the garment industry.

More about Patagonia

Since 1996 Patagonia uses only organic cotton in the clothing collection. Eco-fibers are used in more than 60% of all products and 89% of the products, such as the popular Puff insulation jacket, are recyclable.

The extraordinary history of Patagonia

The American climber and founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouniard, started to make reusable climbing hooks in the backyard of his parents' house more than 60 years ago. It was a great innovation for climbing, because climbing hooks weren’t reusable before. Although the business was booming and "Chouniard Equipment" was the biggest manufacturer of climbing gear in the USA in 1970, Chouinard was not satisfied: his hooks still caused harm to the environment, as they left holes in the rock. Therefore, Chouinard decided to discontinue the production of these hooks despite the economic risk and came up with an alternative - aluminum chocks, which could be wedged in rock cracks and removed again.

The new concept was a complete success and soon afterwards the outdoor company began to produce outdoor apparel for women, men and kids, which became more and more sustainable and environmentally friendly over the years. To differentiate the garment line from the hardware company, it was sold under the name Patagonia. The name refers to the then still puzzling and unknown region in Chile and Argentina and should evoke images of "glaciers tumbling into fjords, jagged windswept peaks, gauchos and condors".

Patagonia: If it’s broke, fix it!

Patagonia uses only the best materials and is constantly looking for new ones all over the world (or alternatively develops them together with suppliers). Among other materials, the company uses the environmentally-friendly natural fiber hemp, organic cotton, recycled down from old linen and clothing, recycled nylon, recycled polyester from plastic bottles for fleece clothing and recycled wool.

Although the outdoor company produces only very high-quality, long-lasting products, it happens that the clothing is damaged after years of use. Therefore, Patagonia has introduced the "Worn Wear" program: whether it is pants, jeans, shorts, pullovers and shirts, jackets or accessories, every Patagonia product gets repaired. Patagonia operates the largest textile repair center in North America with over 30,000 repairs per year, trains shop staff to carry out minor repairs, and provides free repair instructions for customers. Products that cannot be repaired are recycled to new fibers and fabrics.

In addition to Patagonia’s own efforts to protect the planet, the company supports a variety of projects and tries to strengthen the global awareness of environmental protection. To do so, Patagonia donates money to hundreds of environmental groups a year. As a result, the company makes a decisive contribution to the preservation of our planet. In addition, Patagonia is part of the "1% for the planet" movement and thus donates 1% of its sales to environmental organizations. This year, 100% of the Black Friday revenues will be used to support environmental groups as well.