Patagonia’s “The Footprint Chronicles”

Patagonia's “The Footprint Chronicles” is a website and short video series centered on the idea that Patagonia customers want to know the details of where their products come from. In other words, Patagonia is inviting the public to come with them as they assess and improve their own supply chain in China and all countries where they operate, demonstrating a level of transparency that few companies have ever approached. As such, it presents an opportunity not only to improve Patagonia’s own operations by opening them up to public scrutiny, but it can inform a more nuanced public discourse that will encourage greater transparency among other global corporations.

Patagonia’s initiative is particularly impressive because it endeavours to be transparent about both the social/labor and environmental impacts of the work the company does. While many companies are, of course, implementing transparency initiatives, Patagonia’s project is more or less unprecedented, because of the size of the company as well as the fact that it originated from customer demand. Customers of Patagonia, which produces high-end sports and outdoor apparel, were concerned about where their sweaters and wetsuits were coming from, and “what was being done in our name?” Patagonia’s approach is innovative and quite encouraging, and they have the ambitious goal of becoming the first notable company to be “regenerative”, to essentially give back more than it takes in terms of natural capital. Overconsumption is the problem, the people at Patagonia say, and by making their supply chain – their fabric materials, factories, transportation, and retail outlets – fully transparent, they are pioneering a new way of doing business. Let’s hope that more companies see the benefits of the “Footprint Chronicles” and follow suit.

The Footprint Chronicles Website