Patagonia, the company that urges people not to buy its jackets ― and instead just fix the ones they already have ― is applying that message on a broad new level.
The environmentally conscious outdoor retailer has pumped the brakes on its popular corporate branding program and will no longer produce co-branded garments for companies that don’t share Patagonia’s environmental ethos.
So if you work for a certified B-Corp (like Patagonia) that “uses business as a force for good,” you’re in luck. But if you work for a company that actively harms the environment, well, you’re in for a dressing down.
And in a sharp blow to the tech and Wall Street bros, among others, who have made Patagonia vests a fixture of their wardrobe, financial services companies ― aka “Fintech” ― shouldn’t expect to see their logos on a Nano Puff anymore.
The sartorial rebuke was first noticed by Binna Kim, president of the communications firm Vested, who recently had an order for a client rejected.
She’d placed the order through a third-party (not through Patagonia), who relayed along Patagonia’s thinking:
“This is a relatively new direction for the brand and this division, all coming through the lens of their new mission statement, ‘We’re in business to save our home planet,’” the reseller said.
That means “they are reluctant to co-brand with oil, drilling, mining, dam construction, etc. companies that they view to be ecologically damaging.” Also mentioned on the list: religious groups, food groups, politically affiliated companies/groups, financial institutions, and more.
Per the reseller, Patagonia is evaluating each order on a case-by-case basis.
Patagonia confirmed the news in an email to HuffPost, emphasizing the shift won’t affect any of the company’s current corporate sales customers.
“Our corporate sales program…
