What have been the biggest environmental developments in action sports over the last two years?
The largest development in the past two years has been the industry’s shift to an overarching desire to reduce the environmental impact of its products. Four years ago, when Patagonia entered the surf market, we were a lone ranger in the environmental movement. You weren’t hearing about recycled polyester boardshorts, or a less-environmentally harmful wetsuit - but today you do - from just about every company in the industry. There’s been a massive sea change, which is great.
Do you think environmental ethics in manufacturing and business processes has moved forward or regressed during the recession? Why?
I don’t think the recession has caused an environmental regression. In fact, we’ve seen companies recognizing that with tighter budgets, customers demand higher quality products that stand for something. Patagonia’s has had its best two years on record and we believe it’s due to our commitment to the environment and products that cause the least amount of harm. Companies in the action sports industry are smart enough to realize that customers are now voting with their wallets - and in today’s economy, they chose products that represent something larger than just fast fashion.
What have been the biggest challenges in helping to move your business and the industry towards sustainability?
Quite frankly, cost is a challenge. Recycled polyester can be more expensive than virgin; organic cotton is more costly than conventional cotton. The R&D involved in designing a “greener” surfboard is an investment. It’s a scary step to say, “Hey, we’re going to take a small margin hit here if we go organic or recycled.” But we’ve found that every time we’ve made a decision for the planet, we’ve made money. We’re also seeing this cost challenge wane as the demand for recycled and organic materials rise - with more manufacturers and farms producing these enviro materials, cost is falling.
Where do you think we are as an industry as far as actually walking the talk versus simply green washing ourselves to sell products?
Well, the action sports industry has a vested interest in greening its business. We want to save the places we love and make products for - the ocean, the mountains, the desert. You see lots of companies backing grassroots environmental groups’ efforts - like Surfrider, Save the Waves, and more. You also see companies taking small steps to maybe introduce a recycled boardshort, or an organic tee line - and while these steps are small, they are steps in the right direction. Patagonia really believes there’s no steps that are too small.
What messages have been the most effective for you in marketing environmental products and initiatives?
Honest messages resonate best with our customer. Messages that essentially say, “Hey, this product is NOT green - but it’s as environmentally friendly as it can be while still being extremely high in quality.” For example, I think surfers appreciate that we don’t tout our wetsuits as green. In fact, we had an ad that said “There’s no such things as green neoprene.” And that’s true. There’s no true green wetsuit out there today. Customers are educated and aware - the more honest you can be with them, the more likely you are to win their business.
How do you leverage your business partners and customers (factories/retailers/manufacturers/consumers) to support the same message you’re working on?
Patagonia believes in establishing long-term relationships with our factories, fabric vendors, and farmers. We’ve found that our tight-knit relationships have been the most collaborative - and we’ve been able to get our suppliers on board with large-scale environmental efforts - like garment recycling - that require huge capital investments on their part.
Do you think we can really succeed in making truly sustainable products?
No, there is no such thing as sustainable business or sustainable products. Every product we make has a negative environmental impact. Simply by being in business, we are polluters. However, our task (and our challenge) is to create the best products we can while causing the least amount of harm to the planet. With so many eyes on the action sports industry, we can be an example for other businesses and show them that you can make environmentally-minded products for a youthful audience - while being profitable.
Story by transworld business
No comments:
Post a Comment