Our Footprint Stories

In Japan, it is possible to simultaneously stand both in a cultivated field and under a solar array. A group of engineers and entrepreneurs developed a model whereby solar panels can be installed on top of existing farmland and still allow the required amount of sunlight to reach the crops below. These collaborations between businesses…

Es difícil no notar el entusiasmo que existe en torno al cáñamo por estos días. Lee cualquier revista de papel couché, entra a una farmacia, habla con el vendedor de una tienda de alimentos saludables o con la persona a tu lado en la clase de yoga. En cualquiera de estas interacciones, te vas a…

Our home planet has a deeply disturbing and pervasive problem with plastics. In April, a group of researchers studying the deepest part of the ocean—the Mariana Trench—discovered plastic bags and candy wrappers floating nearly seven miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Globally, about 450 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year and 9.5 million tons of…

What’s the secret to a really good pair of jeans? Comics journalist Sarah Mirk tells us what to look for and how to keep them in play longer.

It’s hard not to notice the hype around hemp today. Pick up any lifestyle magazine, enter a pharmacy, talk to a health-food store employee or just the person next to you in yoga class—at some point you’ll learn about its miraculous powers. In particular, near-unbelievable claims swirl around cannabidiol, or CBD, oil derived from hemp:…

Yvon Chouinard shares how our company continues to do what it can to defend the soil, air and water we all depend on—and to confront the greatest threat to our welfare we’ve ever faced.

Together with industry partners, Patagonia commissioned Ocean Wise’s Plastic Lab to investigate microfibers, the tiny textile particles that shed from garments over their lifetime. The scientists at the Plastic Lab have just completed the first phase of this research project, so we asked them for an update. While plastic debris in the ocean has rightfully…

Empezamos a desarrollar nuestro Programa de Responsabilidad Social a mediados de los noventa, trabajando codo a codo con nuestros colaboradores en las fábricas. En 2001, fuimos miembros fundadores de la Fair Labor Association (Asociación del Trabajo Justo), una organización sin fines de lucro que trabaja para mejorar las condiciones laborales alrededor del mundo. Con más de una…

This holiday season, I have an early New Year’s resolution for the sake of Planet Earth: let’s all become radical environmentalists. This sounds like a big leap—but it’s not. All you need is a sewing kit and a set of repair instructions. As individual consumers, the single best thing we can do for the planet…

El revisar la reunión del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA por su sigla en inglés) en Jacksonville, me inundan la ira, el dolor y un sentido de urgencia por seguir avanzando. La reunión del Directorio Nacional para Estándares Orgánicos (NOSB en inglés) fue un hito crucial para el Programa Nacional Orgánico (NOP en inglés). Fue…

When it comes to making more responsible jeans, our work is never done. And, of course, we leave the really dirty work to you.

In the conventional model of philanthropy, the big funders—corporations and foundations—mainly support big professional environmental groups. The large national organizations (those with budgets over $5 million) are doing important work but they make up just 2% of all environmental groups, yet receive more than 50% of all environmental grants and donations. Meanwhile, funding the environmental…

Update: The majority of this post first appeared on March 6, 2015. It was updated on September 8, 2015 and has been updated again on July 15, 2016 with the most recent information about Patagonia’s work to improve chemical safety in our supply chain. Patagonia—as well as other high-quality outdoor outerwear suppliers—for years relied on a Durable…

Nuestro problema de DWR Actualización: La mayor parte de este post apareció por primera vez el 6 de marzo de 2015. Se ha actualizado aquí con la información más reciente sobre el trabajo de Patagonia para mejorar la seguridad química dentro de nuestra cadena de suministro. Patagonia – así como otros proveedores de prendas outdoors…

Dear Friends, We’ve spent the past several days looking deep into our wool supply chain, shocked by the disturbing footage of animal cruelty that came to light last week. Patagonia’s partnership with Ovis 21 has been a source of pride because of the program’s genuine commitment to regenerating the grassland ecosystem, but this work must…

Update 8/17/15: Thank you to everyone who commented on this story. Your feedback is very important to us. Please see our follow-up post on this issue for the latest news. PETA has shown us video footage from within the Ovis 21 farm network that supplies merino wool for Patagonia’s baselayers and insulation. It is as…

Patagonia Cessa l’Acquisto di Lana da Ovis 21 Cari amici, Sconvolti dal filmato allarmante – in rete da settimana scorsa – che mostra comportamenti spietati nei confronti degli ovini, abbiamo trascorso gli ultimi giorni controllando meticolosamente la nostra catena di approvvigionamento della lana. La partnership di Patagonia con Ovis 21 è stata una fonte di…

Patagonia ne se fournira plus en laine auprès d’Ovis 21 Chers amis, Choqués par les images bouleversantes de la semaine dernière révélant les atrocités faites aux animaux, nous avons ces derniers jours étudié de près notre chaîne d’approvisionnement de la laine. Si Patagonia a été fier de collaborer avec Ovis 21, qui proposait un programme…

Patagonia beendet die Zusammenarbeit mit Ovis 21 Liebe Freunde, wir haben uns in den vergangenen Tagen intensiv mit unserer Woll-Lieferkette auseinandergesetzt, schockiert über die verstörenden Aufnahmen der Tierquälerei, die letzte Woche veröffentlicht wurden. Patagonias Partnerschaft mit Ovis 21 war wegen der aufrichtigen Verpflichtung für die Regeneration des Weidelands und ihres Ökosystems ein Aushängeschild. Aber diese…

Patagonia dejará de comprar lana de Ovis 21 Queridos amigos, Hemos pasado los últimos días revisando profundamente en nuestra cadena de suministro de lana, sorprendidos por las perturbadoras imágenes de crueldad animal que salieron a la luz la semana pasada. La asociación de Patagonia con Ovis 21 ha sido para nosotros una fuente de orgullo,…

Behind everything we make is the hard work of a human being—from growing raw materials and weaving fabric to cutting and sewing the finished product. Yet those who work in garment factories—and, globally, more than 60 million people do—have historically been subject to substandard working conditions and unable to report those issues. That’s why, in…

The dos and don’ts of donating your used clothes.

Over the past few months, the business environment has changed dramatically. I’m not talking about trade policy or tax reform, but rather the heightened moral and ethical uncertainty many business leaders now feel at a time when the foundations of our democracy are challenged. New injustices seem to arise almost every day, demanding we speak…

As I step into MAS Active-Leisureline, a Fair Trade Certified factory that makes Patagonia products near Colombo, Sri Lanka, the first thing that confronts my senses is the sound. Row after row of clamorous cutting and sewing machinery is being operated by a few hundred workers, all dressed in bright green uniforms and working under…

We’re happy to welcome Stonyfield to the B Corp community. When Patagonia was young we felt kinship mostly with companies in the outdoor industry and our friends who worked there. Two companies we admired in the then unfamiliar territory of food included Ben & Jerry’s and Stonyfield, which grew out of an organic farming school…

By Rose Marcario, Patagonia CEO Patagonia opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and Fast Track approval. We stand to gain financially from TPP and the potential duty relief on products made within the region, but the minor potential gains are not worth the social and environmental costs. We have listened closely to the Administration’s…

Imagine paying $7,000 to get a job. That’s what some labor brokers charge migrant workers in Asian countries to place them in factory work in Taiwan, where many factory jobs go wanting these days. The practice is considered an acceptable part of doing business, though brokers regularly charge above legal limits. Transportation, work visas and…

In June 2016, we provided a comprehensive update on Patagonia’s work to investigate the emerging issue of ocean pollution from tiny fibers, which often originate from synthetic textiles (such as nylon, acrylic or polyester) that are used in products available to consumers around the world. Research about microplastics pollution is just starting to emerge among…

This article was first published in 2018. For the most recent information about our participation in the Responsible Wool Standard, visit Our Footprint. In 2015, we made the conscious decision to put a pause on our wool sourcing “until we can assure our customers of a verifiable process that ensures the humane treatment of animals.”…

Please refer to the updated version of this post for the most recent information about Patagonia’s work to improve chemical safety in our supply chain. Patagonia—as well as other high-quality outdoor outerwear suppliers—for years relied on a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) of a certain chemistry (described below) to bead up, then disperse, surface moisture from…

You may be familiar with the “Fair Trade Certified” symbol and its assurance that some of the money spent on a bag of coffee or bar of chocolate goes directly to its producers and stays in their community. Patagonia, in partnership with Fair Trade USA, now makes clothes that provide the same benefit. The program…

Addressing the shedding of microfibers from synthetic garments continues to be a top priority for us at Patagonia. We know there are a lot of contributing factors to microplastic pollution, and we have been learning all we can about the release of fibers from our garments. Patagonia has commissioned two research projects on microplastics—one through…

Looking back on the USDA meeting in Jacksonville, I am left with anger, grief and a sense of urgency that we keep moving forward. The meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) was an historical turning point for the National Organic Program (NOP). It was a watershed moment. “All of the organic philosophy is…

Note: As of March 2017, Red Pine Land and Livestock is not a Patagonia supplier and their wool is not in our products. Over the past 10 months, we have been working diligently to develop a new wool supply chain that reflects high, and verifiable, standards for both animal welfare and land management. We’ve now reached…

Negli ultimi 10 mesi abbiamo lavorato allo sviluppo di una nuova catena di produzione della lana in grado di garantire standard elevati e verificabili sia per l’equo trattamento degli animali che per la gestione del territorio. Oggi abbiamo raggiunto alcuni importanti obiettivi e vogliamo aggiornare i nostri clienti sui traguardi messi a segno, ma anche…