Brands That Bring Us Joy: Patagonia
Posted by Marcus LaRobardiere on Mar 26, 2020
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This is the first post in a series on the brands we love here at NewStore. Different members of the team will share an essay on what it is about their favorite brands’ identity, products, and customer experience that brings them joy. Joy often comes in fleeting moments, but these moments are what connect us. Tell us: Do these brands bring you joy, too? Which ones do?
Patagonia. Just saying the word takes me to a picturesque scene. The sun is rising, slowly warming the air around me. I can taste the salt of the ocean as I wade into the rolling surf in pursuit of the striped bass that’s alluded me all season. On other days, it’s the feeling of carving out fresh tracks down the mountain, shredding through the freshly fallen snow from the night before.
These scenes are connected to personal memories. They take me to a place that only I can appreciate in quiet moments. I don’t think about what I’m wearing and it’s not essential to making these a reality. But it is part of the journey. Part of my experience.
I’ve been a fan of Patagonia for a long time. As someone that gets outdoors often and is active, I rely on my gear to hold up against the elements, perform well, and last season after season. I have two pieces of Patagonia gear that are nearly a decade old and will likely last another. I’ve skied the French Alps, celebrated New Year’s Eve in Berlin, fished Nantucket Sound, and more, all while wearing Patagonia. Any consumer that’s loyal to a brand has their reasons; for me, the reasons often go beyond just product look and fit. There are a few brands I feel this way about, but Patagonia sits atop the list for me.
The best brands in the world, the ones consumers gravitate toward, the ones they trust and genuinely love, always seem to have a story to tell. This story often ties into its mission. Outdoor Voices and its #DoingThings mantra encourages people to get moving in a feel-good, non-competitive tone that differs from its athletic peers. Patagonia is another great example of this.
Activism is deeply rooted in Patagonia’s mission. The company’s longtime mission statement, “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis,” was unique at the time because brands weren’t thinking about their supply chain and its impact on the environment. This is according to Patagonia CEO, Rose Marcario while speaking on stage at NRF 2019. During the same talk, she unveiled the company’s new mission statement, a more direct and simple one, “We’re in the business to save our home planet.”
Under Marcario’s leadership, the brand has done just that. In 2018, President Trump and his administration made changes to the corporate tax rates, which would free up significant cash by reducing tax rates from 35 percent to 21 percent, thus enabling corporations to invest that money back into their people or business. Marcario announced on LinkedIn that Patagonia would commit the $10 million dollars it saved to help fight the climate crisis and invest it back into the planet by way of environmental protection groups for air, land, and water.
In addition to this, since 1985, the brand has adhered to a self-imposed environmental tax that works to preserve and restore the planet. The company takes one percent of its overall sales and donates it back to environmental groups across the globe, which has amassed nearly $90 million in donations. Incredible.
For a long time, Patagonia has run a robust recycling program that allows consumers to send back gear that they no longer want or is at the end of its life. Better yet, they restore, repurpose and resell that gear to reduce consumption and ensure these products do not end up in a landfill. Today, you can jump on the brand’s Worn Wear website to purchase these kinds of clothes or you can donate/trade-in your old Patagonia stuff.
The efforts being taken by Patagonia, and other environmentally sustainable brands like Athleta and Allbirds, are incredibly important—especially considering the apparel industry has been the second-largest environmental polluter in the world. The good news is that retailers can take their own measures across their supply chain and through fulfillment to help reduce their impact.
If Patagonia is a brand that brings you joy too, learn more about its activism efforts here: https://www.patagonia.com/activism/
Marcus LaRobardiere is the Director of Marketing at NewStore where he leads global demand generation and go-to-market strategy and programs.
