Impact Report

How Sustainable Is Patagonia?

Founded in 1973 in California, United States by Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia began as a climbing equipment business and has evolved into a leading advocate for environmentalism.

Patagonia leads environmentally with its use of preferred materials and renewable energy and socially with its labor practices, but its transparency is at-times lacking, also reflected by its low rank in the Fashion Transparency Index.

1. Environmental
Sustainability

Patagonia is a pioneer in environmental sustainability, setting benchmarks in corporate responsibility and committing to organic cotton sourcing as early as 1996. It has phased out virgin petroleum fabrics in favor of recycled materials, though accurate data regarding its emissions targets and fiber portfolio is difficult to find.
IMPACT AREA 01

Materials
& Sourcing

  1. The raw material composition and all item-level certifications are fully transparent and available online for all of Patagonia’s products.
  2. Patagonia uses a significant (>90%) share of preferred materials in its products, with recycled polyester and organic cotton being some of its most used fibers. The benefits of the former are debated, as almost all recycled polyester is derived from plastic bottles. Thus, it competes with closed-loop recycling systems in the food industry.
  3. Patagonia was one of the three founding companies of the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA), which created a new organic standard with added benefits for carbon sequestration, soil health, biodiversity, and water retention.
  4. Patagonia was among the first brands to sign the CanopyStyle pledge to eliminate wood sourcing from ancient and endangered forests.
IMPACT AREA 02

Climate
& Emissions

  1. Patagonia’s annual emissions totaled 199,357 tCO2e in 2023, with 98.5% classified as Scope 3. It has set 2 near-term emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% and Scope 3 by 55% by 2030 (2017 base year). It also has a validated long-term target to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 90% by 2040 (2017 base year).
  2. Patagonia’s 2017 baseline emissions data is unavailable, limiting its accountability regarding these targets. Since the earliest available data in 2020, it has reduced its Scope 1 emissions by 1%, Scope 2 by 59%, and Scope 3 by 10.4%.
  3. Patagonia has set a renewable energy use target for its global owned-and-operated facilities to use 100% renewable energy by 2025. It does not provide regular progress updates.
  4. Patagonia submitted a joint letter to the governor of California supporting the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (Senate Bill 253), requiring brands to report Scope 1, 2, and eventually, Scope 3 emissions.
IMPACT AREA 03

Water
& Chemicals

  1. Patagonia is a Bluesign System Partner, accessing its tools and support to ensure chemical integrity, monitor supplier compliance, and ensure sustainable chemical practices throughout its supply chain.
  2. Patagonia committed to eliminating intentionally added toxic fluorinated Durable Water Repellent (DWR), a water-resistant coating, by 2025 and achieved a 99% elimination by Q3 2024.
  3. Patagonia has proactively phased out several hazardous chemicals, including phthalates, from its production process. While PFAS are still in use, the brand is committed to eliminating them by 2025.
  4. No quantifiable water reduction targets, water usage data, or specific supplier-level water conservation initiatives could be identified.
IMPACT AREA 04

Circularity
& Waste

  1. Patagonia operates a clothing take-back, repair, and resale program called “Patagonia Worn Wear.” Unlike most other brands, it displays its resale items on the same page as new products, under separate “Shop Used” and “Shop New” tabs, promoting circularity to a wide range of users.
  2. Patagonia actively works to identify new end-of-life solutions for apparel and footwear, including participation in fiber-to-fiber recycling initiatives and investing in new technical innovations.
  3. Patagonia is committed to eliminating virgin petroleum-based materials by the end of 2025, transitioning entirely to recycled alternatives. However, this includes recycled polyester, a fiber that is not fully circular.
  4. Patagonia provides product care information to help extend the lifespan of its products.
  5. Microplastic particles are a risk due to the brand's reliance on synthetic materials for its technical gear and clothing.

2. Social
Sustainability

Patagonia is a leader in workers' rights and ethical supply chain practices, ensuring fair trade and actively working toward living wages. It also offers excellent employee benefits and has helped develop animal welfare standards like RWS.
IMPACT AREA 05

Animal
Welfare

  1. Patagonia is not a vegan brand and uses animal-based materials, including leather, wool, cashmere, down, and feathers in its products.
  2. Patagonia’s animal welfare policy is publicly available and aligned with The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare and the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Codes. To enforce these rules, it requires suppliers to adhere to third-party chain of custody standards.
  3. Its animal welfare policy forbids all animal fur and animal skins from protected, threatened, or endangered species on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora list (CITES).
  4. All of Patagonia’s virgin wool and down is either RWS or RDS-certified respectively.
  5. A significant share of Patagonia’s wool and cashmere is made from recycled content, including 100% of its cashmere fibers and a significant share (>75%) of its wool fibers. It ensures recycled claims via the chain of custody standards RCS and GRS.
  6. Leather is used in two of Patagonia’s products as of the writing of this report, and any animal welfare conditions are unclear due to a lack of item-level certification data.
IMPACT AREA 06

Workplace
Practices

  1. In 2024, Patagonia laid off about 3% of its workforce, offering a significantly above-average severance package that included at least 22 weeks of pay, additional compensation based on tenure, and up to 1 year of health insurance coverage.
  2. Patagonia employees receive voluntary benefits such as paid time off, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, child-care support, wellness reimbursements, and 401(k) matching.
  3. It scored a slightly above-median 23.7 out of 40 in the "Workers" category of its 2024 B Corp Impact Assessment, which evaluates its support for employees’ financial security, career development, workplace conditions, and culture.
  4. Patagonia is committed to supply chain transparency, publicly sharing information about its suppliers and their sustainability practices.
IMPACT AREA 07

Supply Chain
Workers’ Rights

  1. Patagonia has a publicly available and detailed supplier code of conduct aligned with the ILO standards.
  2. Patagonia voluntarily discloses full information about facilities in its supply chain, including the facility name, address with coordinates, and product types. (View on OS Hub)
  3. Patagonia is a Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) signatory, measuring social and labor conditions in its supply chain. It does not provide further information or updates on data collection as part of the program.
  4. A significant share of Patagonia's products are Fair Trade Certified.
  5. To combat forced labor in its supply chain, Patagonia prohibits its suppliers from purchasing cotton from China, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
•••

Sources

  1. Patagonia – Climate Goals
  2. Patagonia – Owned and Operated Locations
  3. Patagonia – Durable Water Repellent
  4. Patagonia Works – The Climate Crisis is Our Business
  5. Open Supply Hub – Profile
  6. Science Based Targets – Companies Taking Action Dashboard
  7. Yahoo Finance – Patagonia Layoffs Impact 41 Employees
  8. Patagonia Works – Supports Choice Press Release
  9. Canopy Planet – From Zero to 100 for Forests: A Canopystyle Timeline
  10. SL Convergence – Signatories
  11. Outdoor Industry Association 2020 Annual Progress Report: Patagonia
  12. Outdoor Industry Association – Patagonia 2023 Progress Report
  13. Bluesign – BSP List 2023
  14. Patagonia – Corporate Social Responsibility History
  15. Patagonia – Living Wage
  16. Patagonia – 2023-2024 B Corp Report
  17. Patagonia – 2021 B Corp Report (Updated February 15, 2022)
  18. Patagonia – Why Plastics
  19. Patagonia – What You Can Do About Microfiber Pollution