Patagonia is Putting the Environment Ahead of Profits

Patagonia has not dipped their toe into recycling. They have cannonballed into a very large and deep pool. They have partnered up with Yerdle, a company that provides away for people to trade in their used clothes. "Yerdle's mission is to reduce the number of new things we all need to purchase by 25%. And they make it really easy." Patagonia created the $20 Million & Change investment fund to "support new economies that revolve around extending the life of stuff we already own."

Patagonia sells their used clothing at the Patagonia retail store in Portland, Oregon. "Nothing lasts forever, so we continue to offer easy ways to recycle Patagonia products-100% of what we make- when they finally reach the end of their useful lives and can no longer be repaired."

This is the way the system works:
You can trade in your used clothes, whether its sweaters, pants or toys. By doing this you earn Yerdle Dollars. Then, you can use these dollars to shop for whatever you want. You can download the Yerdle app on your phone. You'll receive 25 Yerdle Dollars just for signing up.

Besides trading in clothes through Yerdle, or buying used clothes at Patagonia's retail store, you can recycle your beyond repair Patagonia products by dropping them off at your nearest Patagonia store or by mailing them in. Patagonia has recycled over 82 tons of clothing since 2005.

Patagonia also has a "repair and care guide" to fix your torn or stained Patagonia gear. They partnered with iFixit to create a page filled with ways to fix anything from an unthreaded draw string to replacing a jean button. By repairing your clothes, you're keeping them in your cycle of clothing longer. "As individual consumers, the single best thing we can do for the planet is to keep our stuff in use longer."

Patagonia will also repair your garment for you, so you don't have to buy a new one. They have 45 full time repair technicians at their service center in Reno, Nevada. "It's the largest repair facility in North America- completing about 40,000 repairs per year."

Patagonia also uses recycled polyester, organic cotton and recycled nylon(from post-industrial waste fiber, yarn from spinning factories and waste from weaving mills). Patagonia began using recycled polyester from plastic soda bottles in 1993. They were the "first outdoor clothing manufactures to transform trash into fleece." Today, Patagonia uses recycled soda bottles, unusable manufacturing waste and worn-out garments to make polyester fibers. They also use recycled wool and many other recycled materials to make their clothing.

I have multiple Patagonia jackets in my closet. I originally bought them because it was winter, it was cold and I needed a warm jacket. I didn't know that they use recycled materials or that they were an eco-friendly company trying to make a positive difference in the environment. Check out their website, I'll have it linked below. I promise that you will find something that you like. Knowing that you are helping the environment in the process should be enough incentive to buy a jacket or a comfortable sweatshirt.

We need more companies like Patagonia. They care more about recycling and reusing clothes than their retail sales. Patagonia would rather make high quality pieces that only need to be bought once, so that they can reduce the amount of clothing being wasted. Every clothing company should adopt this philosophy, because the environment is more important than the amount of t-shirts sold.

Patagonia's worn wear: http://www.patagonia.com/us/reuse-recycle

Repair and care guide: http://www.patagonia.com/us/worn-wear-repairs

Being a responsible company: http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=2329

Recycled materials used(and why they use them): http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=2076

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