FFR Stuff That Rocks: Patagonia’s Earth-Friendly Manufacturing
By Tom Chandler on Oct 4, 2007 in Environment
(Ed: Here?s another in a series of reports from the FFR show about the great stuff that should get attention, but probably won?t.)
Fly fishermen are largely gadget and equipment freaks, but sometimes lag in the most important aspect of the sport — making sure there are still wild places worth fishing.
That’s why Ground Zero for this post was the Patagonia booth at FFR. I went, I saw, I talked — and I came away impressed.
It wasn’t Patagonia’s improved wading boots, or their interesting Guidewater vest, but something far bigger: the company’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing. In simplest terms, Patagonia puts their money — and their energy — where their environmental mouth is.
Bill Klyn of Patagonia described the company’s groundbreaking “green” manufacturing program: By 2010, Patagonia’s “Common Threads Recycling Program” sets the goal of recycling everything they manufacture.
Essentially, they’re committing to “cradle-to-grave” responsibility for their products, and even accepting compatible competitor’s garments for recycling.
You can imagine this adds to Patagonia’s costs (compared to those who simply wave good-bye when a product goes out the door and into the landfill), but leadership has never been cheap.
The Common Threads program is the brainchild of a company that’s already pulling its weight on the environmental front — they co-founded 1% For the Planet (with Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies), and continue to fight the good fight on many, many different fronts.
Clearly this post isn’t about a gadget that helps you catch more fish; it’s about something that ensures we’ll actually have fish to catch. To me, that rocks.
Look for an upcoming article about the fly fishing industry’s commitment to environmental issues. You’ll be surprised — and likely a little disappointed — at what you read.
See you at the recycling bin, Tom Chandler.
Technorati Tags: patagonia, common threads, recycling, fly fishing
Dave Neal | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Major nod to Patagonia…the company. They definetely put their $$ where their mouth is.
While they may not always make the BEST product available, they stand behind their stuff 110%. The fact that, currently, a lot of their products are totally recyclable is impressive. They also donate a lot in grants etc. to support “good fight”.
Tom, I look forward to reading the mentioned article regarding the FF industies commitment to environmental issues…
Cheers.
Dave Neal | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Wow…I spelld reel good, huh?
Big Sky Taku | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Good coverage on Patagonia. While I agree with Dave that not all their products are the best, they are very concerned with working on them. Using Steve Straq’s Way Upstream blog is great for giving them feedback on products. So how goes the BWO on the Sac? They have been good on the Bitterroot, thank goodness no Brookies have despoiled my flies….
Brian Bennett | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Over the last two years our World Trout initiative has also donated 250K to advocates working to save wild trout.
http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=10153
Brian Bennett | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
p.s. Some of the enviro essays we feature on the World Trout page sidebar are worth a read.
Here’s one on hatcheries that appeared in our 2001 fishing catalog.
http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?assetid=20274
Timo McIntosh | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Whenever possible I buy from Patagonia. They are more expensive of course, but the money is better spent with them. Plus, they are fabric innovators, bringing around new high tech products, like fleece, so that other manufactures can benefit.
I do disagree about their products though. You really have to define what you are looking for in a product if you are going to judge these products. I find Patagonia products top notch in weight, comfort, performance, and ergonomic design. Sure, they are not quite so durable (but they will replace almost anything that fails outright) and they don’t offer a wide selection, nor does their sizing work on many items, but 3 layers from them does the job for me every time; no sweating, no shivering, no hang-ups, no chafing etc.
I have found over and over that their products really perform well as far as moving with you and not interfering with what you are doing. Good in my mind is something you don’t have to think about and that you forget you’re wearing, which they definitely hit the mark on.
Thanks for bringing them up, and what the people there strive to do. I’m a fan and like to see them get their deserved recognition.
Tom Chandler | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
My original “FFR Rocks — Patagonia” post was going to be a video of Brian Bennett doing The Robot on the show floor, but he had the show security goons beat me senseless and steal my camera.
Otherwise, he’s a pretty nice guy.
greg hall | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
A short while back there was a television profile on Yvon Chounard (sp?) and Patagonia where he stated that in every instance where they strove to make products more “green” they turned out to be more profitable. Yet another example of Going Green = Green. Not all their products work for me but I always applaud their efforts to create a different business model that really does work.
El Pescador | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
Making the best product while doing the least amount of harm is our goal at Patagonia. Using business to implement and inspire solutions to environmental problems is our mission. We may not always succeed but we always try. Thanks for the mention TC. You rock too.