Patagonia

Patagonia CEO

Patagonia is a paradox. Our charter mandates we follow social and environmentally responsible practices, yet every product we make takes irreplaceable resources from the planet. Our existence seems counter to our purpose. That tension is not lost on us.

Like every other business, we do not exist in a vacuum. Our impact is often influenced by world events and geographies, and there is no defined end point or agreed-upon definition of success for some of the most urgent work we take on. The best we can do is stay within our means—both as a company and citizens of the planet.

Businesses are implicated in creating the climate and ecological crisis. As governments continue to walk back their social and environmental commitments, however, corporate responsibility becomes doubly urgent. If we hope to have a livable planet in 100 years, we have to take the initiative and use our influence to advocate for things beyond our bottom lines.

“Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it is painful. But in the end, it is progress.”

Let’s advocate for policy that protects ecosystems, rather than endorsing environmental deregulation. Let’s make the case that pro-business does not have to mean anti-planet. Businesses must move on from declaring they care about the planet, then hiding behind industry organizations that lobby against climate action in the name of profits. It’s going to take real, sometimes uncomfortable, work from all of us, but let’s agree that corporate climate action goes beyond sustainability slogans and examine our own practices and impact.

This is not to say Patagonia has impact figured out. Far from it. It took us 52 years to get to where we are today, and the path has not been linear. Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it is painful. But in the end, it is progress.

In this report, we detail defining moments like realizing carbon neutrality failed to meet our standards of environmental responsibility (page 13) and the ongoing work to eliminate foreign migrant worker fees for those who make our products (page 75). We reflect on the impact of our Fair Trade efforts (page 73) and spending nearly 20 years researching how to remove PFAS from our products (page 79). And all the work ahead of us to decarbonize our supply chain (page 91).

The last thing we wanted this progress report to be was page after page of self-congratulation. While we do get into specifics about the work done by teams across the company and pay credit to deserving colleagues, this report is a way to stay accountable to our community by showing what we’re committed to and what we’re doing to achieve it. We hope it provides some clarity—or even inspiration to act. By sharing best practices and overcoming our fear of calling out the worst ones, we can have real, lasting impact. Businesses can be a force for good.

Ryan Gellert

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