Patagonia

Patagonia, Inc.

Type	Private company
Founded	1972
Headquarters	Ventura, California
Key people	Yvon Chouinard
Industry	Retail
Products	Outdoor apparel
Revenue	▲ 270 Million (2007)
Employees	▲ 1289 (2007)
Website	www.patagonia.com

Patagonia, Inc. is a Ventura, California-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental movements and is considered a socially responsible company. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1972.

The logo is the skyline of Cerro Fitzroy looking West in Patagonia.

Sport Specific Apparel

Patagonia offers many varieties of outdoor clothing. Many of their products are marketed towards skiers, campers, surfers, hikers, rock climbers, Nordic skiers and others. Patagonia employs a flex-time policy, allowing employees to take time off to go surfing.^[1] One of its main product lines is the Capilene base layer clothing. Patagonia recently started making surf specific products, and currently has three different lines of wetsuits and many different models of swim trunks.

Because of its high prices and perceived yuppie image it is colloquially known as 'Patagucci' or 'Pradagonia' among many hikers and climbers.^[2] Though Patagonia is considered to be a sport specific apparel manufacturer, some of the company's most popular products are general apparel. Patagonia fleeces, rain jackets, and coats are some of the most widely worn products in the outdoor apparel industry.

Environmental activities

Patagonia is a major contributor to environmental groups. Patagonia commits 1% of their total sales or 10% of their profit, whichever is more, to environmental groups. Since 1985, when the program was first started, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1,000 organizations.

Patagonia co-founded the alliance 1% For the Planet. This is an alliance of businesses who, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment.

Patagonia often features their environmental campaigns in their catalogues and advertisements. Many of their recent campaigns include work with preventing oil drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, "Ocean As A Wilderness", and "Don't Dam Patagonia".

In early 2008, Patagonia won the 'Eco Brand of the Year' award at the Volvo Ecodesign Forum during the ISPO Trade Show in Munich.^[3]

References

External links

• Patagonia
• 1% For the Planet
• Video of Patagonia's store opening in Boulder, Colorado.
• [1] 2004 Patagonia Factory Inspection Reports