Retailer Patagonia puts emphasis on environment
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES
High-end outdoor clothier and gear maker Patagonia Inc. is out to prove that a company can generate strong sales while being nearly fanatical about environmental concerns.
The Ventura, Calif., company was the first major clothier to make fleece jackets out of recycled bottles. Nearly a third of the power for its headquarters and adjoining child-care center comes from solar. And it donates 1 percent of its sales to environmental causes.
With Patagonia being a privately held company, its finances are not public, but it says it’s riding a growth curve. It opened 14 new stores last year, bringing to 88 its wholly owned retail outlets throughout the world. Executives said the company had $540 million in sales in the 12 months that ended in April, an increase of more than 30 percent over the same period a year earlier.
Furthermore, they said, Patagonia has doubled revenue and tripled profit since 2008.
But is it fair to say that the environmental dedication of the company is a key to its claimed success?
Patagonia executives say yes.
Chief Executive Casey Sheahan said customers were willing to pay $25 for a T-shirt, $20 for wool socks and $180 for a light jacket because they knew Patagonia inflicted less damage on the environment than other clothing makers did.
And, he said, other companies are catching on.
“I think a lot of big companies are doing things like this because it’s a better way of doing business,” he said as he strolled company headquarters where clothing designers shuffle around in flip-flops while other workers shape surfboards that they test off a nearby beach.
Patagonia co-founded the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a group of retailers and clothiers, including Target, Wal-Mart and Levi Strauss, that is committed to slashing the environmental impact of their operations.
But analysts said Patagonia’s eco-friendly philosophy probably was only one factor in the company’s ability to grow.