Patagonia

Patagonia has always followed the philosophy of "Make the best product with as little impact on the environment as possible." Today, the activist company consistently advocates climate and environmental protection, with the motto "We are in business to save our home planet.

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Why is Patagonia a WIR DENKEN UM brand?

The company offers innovative outdoor clothing and equipment, but is also a vocal activist for people, nature and the climate. As a WIR DENKEN UM brand, Patagonia stands out in the following ways:

- The company is committed to accountability throughout the supply chain and is dedicated to responsible purchasing

- It is aware of the impact its business activities have on the environment and systematically analyzes and prioritizes risks

- Patagonia prides itself on ecologically friendly, resource-saving production

THE ACTIVIST COMPANY PATAGONIA BY YVON CHOUINARD

Patagonia grew out of a small company of climbers for climbers. Although the company continues to focus on mountaineering and still produces clothing for climbing, it also sells apparel for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, fly fishing, mountain biking and trail running. All these sports are silent and are rewarded with moments of unity between man and nature.

Many people know, that Patagonia is actively committed to protect the environment and climate. What perhaps not everyone knows yet is that in 2022, founder Yvon Chouinard transferred 98 % of the company shares to non-profit environmental organisations. According to Chouinard: "The earth is now our only shareholder."

This shows the consistenc with wihich the popular outdoor brand lives environmetal and climate protection. This is also reflected in the procurement of materials and the prodution method: Since 1996 Patagonia uses exclusively organic cotton in its clothing collection. More than 60 % of all products are made from eco-fibres and more than 72 %, like the popular Nano puff insulation jacket, are made from recycled materials. Meanwhile, 76 % of the range is Fair Trade Certified.

The extraordinary history of Patagonia

The American climber and founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouniard, not only conquerred the bis walls, but 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". This sealed the foundation of the company.

©Ice climbing by Zeugswetter

Sustainable outdoor clothing for mountain sports

Patagonia offers a wide range of outdoor clothing for various activities such as hiking, climbing, skiing, skiing, snowboarding and much more. The product range includes jackets, sweaters and t-shirts. These tops are made out of high quality materials that provide comfort, breathability and freedom of moving. Secondly, Patagonia offers pants, shorts and accessories. These are durable, comfortable and often offer practical features such as pockets and reinforceents in stressed areas. For Patagonia the sustainability and quality of the products are basic requiremtne in the design process.

In additon to specialized lines such as Torrentshell rainwear and Nano Puff insulations products, the brand also offers functional Capilene baselayers. Designed for different weather conditions, baselayer include long-sleeved shirts and leggings that wick moisture and regulate body heat to maintain a comfortable microclimate on the skin.

Patagonia: What's broken gets fixed!

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. Because the use of recycled materials plays a major rle in keeping the CO2 footprint as low as possible.

Although the outdoor company only manufactures very high-quality, long-lasting products whose service life is constantly being improved, it happens that the clothing and equipment wear out or 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 56.000 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. Simpyl send in your broken items to Patagonia and have them repaired.

For the love of our nature

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. In 2022, Yvon Chouinard transferred ownership of the company to the non profit organisations Patagonia Purpose Trust and the newlyestablished Holdfast Collective Foundation. Since then, all of the company#s profits that are not reinvested in the business have gone towards fighting the climate crisis. Per year that's roughly the equivalent of 100 million dollars - another significant step in Patagonias mission to save our planet home.