Patagonia, Inc. is an American retailer of outdoor clothing. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 and is based in Ventura, California. Patagonia has hundreds of stores in 10+ countries across five continents, as well as factories in 16 countries.
In 1993, Patagonia produced the first polyester fleece jacket from recycled bottles. It had a green tint, from green soda bottles. Now, manufacturing waste, plastic bottles and worn-out clothing is recycled into new apparel, literally closing the recycling loop. Patagonia’s product line has expanded from fleece jackets to include 82 products with recycled polyester, including insulated pants, down jackets and beanies.
This creates a great opportunity for the Patagonia brand to be known for green innovation. Many customers share a love for the outdoors, which often comes with increased environmental concern. The company has a very loyal customer following, I’m guessing in part because of the environmental stewardship values that it demonstrates and has incorporated throughout the company.
Almost 30 years later, the company has incorporated recycled polyester into its hard shells, boardshorts, fleece and Capilene® baselayers, and overall have very little virgin polyester left in its line. For the Fall 2022 season, 91% of the company’s polyester fabrics are made with recycled polyester. As a result of not using virgin polyester, the company avoided more than 12.3 million pounds of CO2e being emitted into the atmosphere.
According to patagonia.com; en.wikipedia.org. Source of photos: internet
