How Patagonia is Making its Procurement More Sustainable
Patagonia is a leading outdoor apparel brand known for its commitment to environmental sustainability and ethical practices.
Founded in 1973, the company prioritises responsible sourcing, using recycled materials and organic fabrics in its products.
Patagonia's mission is to "save our home planet," emphasising the need to reduce environmental impact and promote social responsibility.
The brand actively participates in initiatives like 1% for the Planet, donating a portion of sales to environmental causes.
Additionally, Patagonia encourages customers to buy less and repair products, challenging fast fashion norms and reinforcing its role as a leader in sustainable business practices.
Patagonia x Canopy
Now, the retailer is going to work with Canopy, the environmental non-profit, to create paper products using agricultural waste and non-forest fibres.
Patagonia is looking to stop sourcing the material for packaging from endangered forests and by joining Pack4Good, a sustainable packaging initiative from Canopy, a solutions-driven non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting forests, species and climate.
Growing from the strong foundation of working with Canopy to eliminate the destruction of ancient and endangered forests caused by the production of viscose textiles since 2013,
Patagonia is now focused on the next generation of packaging solutions from more sustainable sources, such as agricultural waste instead of trees. The company has committed to ensuring none of their packaging comes at the expense of the world's most climate- and biodiversity-critical forests.
Packaging, like delivery boxes, hang tags and shoe boxes — is responsible for 3.1 billion trees being logged annually, many from climate-critical forests. The pressure on the world's forests is intense and using alternative sources of fibre for paper and packaging, that don't use trees, is a priority for Canopy and Patagonia.
"Constantly improve everything we do"
"Patagonia is excited to announce its partnership with Canopy's Pack4Good initiative," says Jennifer Patrick, Packaging and Branding Director, Patagonia.
"As part of our goal to build the best product and constantly improve everything we do, we are taking steps to review and develop new, more-responsible packaging materials in partnership with Canopy."
Since its initial partnership with Canopy, Patagonia has been a leader in shifting the viscose and rayon supply chain, being among the first brand leaders to source exclusively from producers rated as "green shirt" in Canopy's annual Hot Button Report.
In its ongoing efforts to minimise their environmental impact, Patagonia has been using 100% recycled content for all its packaging and catalogues.
A crucial time
The next phase of Patagonia's sustainability journey will involve collaboration with Canopy to develop and scale up Next Gen packaging solutions. Next Gen Solutions utilise innovative materials such as agricultural waste and non-forest alternative fibres, significantly reducing reliance on primary forest resources.
"We are so pleased to be welcoming Patagonia to the Pack4Good family," adds Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy.
"This commitment comes at a crucial time when the need for low-carbon alternatives to forest-based packaging is more pressing than ever.
"By supporting the scale-up of Next Gen materials, Patagonia is not only contributing to the preservation of Ancient and Endangered Forests, it is leading the outdoor apparel sector towards a more sustainable future."
The announcement brings the Pack4Good initiative to 445 brands worth over US$249bn in annual revenue.
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