9 votes

The more Patagonia rejects consumerism, the more the brand sells

2 comments

  1. thundergolfer
    Link
    Zizek on 'Conscious Capitalism' is relevant here. You can't save the world with a purchase, though Patagonia seems to be trying harder than anyone to prove that wrong.

    Zizek on 'Conscious Capitalism' is relevant here. You can't save the world with a purchase, though Patagonia seems to be trying harder than anyone to prove that wrong.

    6 votes
  2. patience_limited
    Link
    From the article:

    From the article:

    Patagonia is an American clothing brand with sales of about $1 billion per year. It’s one of the world’s biggest and best-known names in outdoor wear, with more than 50 stores around the world. But if you think that Patagonia is just another manufacturer of fleece jackets, sleeping bags and backpacks: think again.

    For one thing, it’s been known to urge customers not to buy too many of its products. For another, there’s a camper van of Patagonia staff driving across the US to mend customers’ beloved but worn-out products.

    And then, as I see with my own eyes, there’s the company’s long-standing commitment to fighting everything that hurts the environment – a whole history of campaigns against ecosystem-destroying dams, oil drilling, pipelines, deforestation and governments which deny climate change.

    Patagonia’s mission statement, far from something blandly typical – along the lines of: we make the best equipment to get the best out of outdoor adventures – is simpler, and much braver: “We’re in business to save our home planet.”

    4 votes