This reading about the product design philosophy of Patagonia makes me change my point of view regarding fashion. Before, when I think about fashion, the first thing that comes to my mind is trendy. And for me to stay fashionable I must buy affordable clothes; I don’t care if it is durable because design and print can be easily outdated. I never thought that there is a link between product design and business ethics.
Patagonia is very keen on its mission to “make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm” (Patagonia, n.d.). Aligned with this mission are their values and ethics. They prefer a simple but functional and durable design for the product. The two reasons are first, they believe it can prevent their customers to buy too many products. Secondly, to decrease waste materials and energy. To prove their commitment to their product design philosophy, in 2011 the brand made an ad campaign that read, “Don’t Buy This Jacket”. One of the reasons that make Patagonia an ethical company, when it comes to handling their customer is giving priority to their needs, the best example is Patagonia Ironclad Guarantee, it promised product satisfaction even at the expense of the business.
I like how Patagonia, makes an effort to be a sustainable brand, founder Yvon Chouinard co-founded the non-profit organization and pledge 1% of their sales to protect natural resources. That makes them set apart from their competitors. According to Deena Robinson of Earth. Org other companies like H&M, Zara and Uniqlo are claiming their brands to be environmentally friendly, but no sufficient evidence to support their claim, instead of being sustainable they invest money to greenwash their product.
When Patagonia talks about responsibility, the one that resonates to me is What we take as a question of ethics. Now I understand that as a consumer What I take or buy could be my responsibility in the environment. Buying products that won’t last long could contribute to the environmental problem of textile waste. By choosing to buy an ethical product, from a sustainable company I could get good value for money and help protect the environment.
References:
Don’t buy this jacket, black Friday, and the New York Times. Patagonia. https://www.patagonia.com/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html
Robinson, D. (2021, August 2). 10 companies and corporations called out for greenwashing. Earth.Org. 10 Chttps://earth.org/greenwashing-companies-corporations/ompanies and Corporations Called Out For Greenwashing (earth.org)
4 March 2022 at 7:58 am
Reviewed KM March 4
4 March 2022 at 11:34 pm
Hi Sheena!
Your blog is interesting, I don’t know much about Patagonia company so after reading your blog, I research about their products. And I found out that Patagonia is one of the world’s most responsible company in the year 2021 (R. Matthews). I also learned that they are known for their eco-friendly and sustainable products, they reuse, repair, recycle and reimagine the old collected clothing’s which like you mention in your blog it is environmentally friendly and at the same time it is also encouraging the customers to be a responsible shopper. The company campaign called 1% for the planet where in they donate one percent of their global sales to help in preserving and restoring natural environment is a smart idea that for me, it should also be emulated by other companies to have social and environmental responsibilities. With the Patagonia’s mission and values, they are not only gaining trust from the consumers but also inspires people to be part of solutions on environmental problems that we are facing now adays. This also proves that we can be fashionable without harming our environment but instead we can be a part of preserving our environment and can help our society by simply supporting this kind of company campaign.
Reference:
Matthews, R. (2021, September 10). The Green Market Oracle. Retrieved March 4,2022, from https://thegreenmarketoracle.com/2021/09/10/10-reasons-why-patagonia-is-worlds-most/