Patagonia uses what we call a 4-fold approach to pre-screen factories and mills we work with. Every new and existing supplier must meet our standards and requirements for business, quality, environmental and social standards. Teams that represent each fold have full veto power over onboarding a new supply chain partner. This is an effective process that screens out suppliers who cannot meet our strict 4-fold set of standards.
We also rely on our Supply Chain Environmental Responsibility program to measure and reduce environmental impacts of manufacturing Patagonia products. Our Supplier Workplace Code of Conduct is based on International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor standards and requires our suppliers comply with all laws in each of the countries where our factories operate. We also have a robust Material Traceability program to ensure strong chain of custody guidelines for our suppliers.