Nadim EL KARY Ethics and Sustainability

MBA HEC Paris Patagonia Individual Assignment

J23 – ES1 CSR and Circular Economy
May 18th, 2023
According to UNECE (2018), clothing industry by itself is not only responsible of 10% of carbon footprint
but also of 20% of water waste. Although having these numbers in our hands nowadays should send an
alert to big players, we are still far from serious global approach to curb those externalities. The principles
are simple and consist mainly of caring about our “mother nature” through “primum non nocere” or at
least limiting reasonably harmful action. In fact, things become more complicated when sources of
damages are indirect and hidden. That is why people like Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia top management
team are needed in our world to not just highlight the dangers of the situation but to take immediate
effective actions.

Yvon Chouinard as a rock climber has succeeded to hold in his DNA this “nature caring” culture. He
translated it into functional product by developing in the 1960s “hexes” to limit damage on mountain
surfaces during mountain climbing. Then he entered the apparel industry holding the same spirit and
dream when he established Patagonia in 1973.

He engraved the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the company roots by offering healthy vegetarian
options which are known for their reduced Carbon footprint (Exhibit 1) and by initiating on-site child care
making Patagonia’s premises a leader sustainable workplace.
Then he went beyond Patagonia’s walls. He started in 1986, relatively early to world plans, and committed
to the “1% for the Planet” initiative (48 countries, 1200 members in 2012 and $100 millions in 2012). This
initiative does not only support environment causes but also raises awareness about the importance of
nature respect measures and puts Patagonia as a pioneer model example of a CSR advocate among
clothing and apparel societies.

After that, Patagonia decided to effectively take full responsibility of their actions by launching a study in
1991 demonstrating that conventional 100% cotton is the most harmful clothing fiber due to pesticides
(water, soil and air contamination with many health issues) and water consumption. Although cotton was
20% of their sourced material and it demands high cost to shift to organic one, Patagonia top management
claimed that “no cost was too great for the right thing”. Therefore, a real step was taken in 1994 in
eliminating conventional cotton from their line which reached by 1996. On top of that, cotton growing
needs lots of water (185 tones for 1 T-shirt) so they make their best to buy from regions where it rains
and not from regions where it costs a river dryness to cultivate cotton. They cared as well about animal
welfare and collaborated with Nature Conservancy and Ovis 21 (merino wool sourcing and down feather
from well treated birds). Moreover, Patagonia adopted a transparency culture by spreading CSR through
“Footprint Chronicles”, interactive map on their website and also talking about negative externalities to
produce specific articles of clothing. All that reflects the global vision to preserve as much as possible the
ecosystem.

Aside from dealing with upstream issues, Patagonia went to the extreme downstream by following and
influencing their products and their customer behavior. According to the Environmental Protection
Agency (2018) 85% of clothing ends up in landfills or gets incinerated. Moreover, recycling clothes and

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Nadim EL KARY Ethics and Sustainability
MBA HEC Paris Patagonia Individual Assignment
J23 – ES1 CSR and Circular Economy
May 18th, 2023
cotton is difficult, that is why Patagonia needed to innovate different alternatives to optimize the circular
economy. In 2005, they initiated “Common Threads” program with 2 aspects:
. 1st aspect: to extend clothes life by sharing do-it-yourself repair guides with consumers and inviting
them to reach out repair facility for fair prices
. 2nd aspect: Intensify clothes use through second-hand market with different channels and through Worn
Wear program
In the end, according to WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Program) a British registered charity
works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy, keeping our clothing
in use just nine extra months reduces the related water, waste and carbon footprints by 20% to 30% each.

Lastly, but NOT LEAST, Patagonia shocked the world on Black Friday of 2011 by inviting customers and
consumers to buy less, spend less on clothes in the perspective of long-term strategy to preserve planet
resources for following generations and at the same time to stay in the business for long time. This was
well said in their advertisement “We’re now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and
only planet”. They also introduced the term “environmental bankruptcy” to stress on the exponential
scenario that may arise at any moment. This comes in harmony with their plan (5 th R = Reimagine =
Rethink strategy) to reduce resource consumption and preserve ecosystems.

It is clear that Chouinard and Patagonia team are working, consciously or unconsciously, towards reaching
some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is time to work on transforming those
sustainable goals into real effective policies able to be applied globally. For instance, it is not acceptable
anymore to grow conventional cotton while we have technologies and capacities to go organic even
though we will be producing less in more time. The priority goes without question for environmental
harmful reduction especially that damages to Earth are partially irreversible. Local and global authorities
are needed in action. Therefore, it is time for Patagonia with all its collaborators to go bigger by polarizing
political parties around the world to lobby for sustainability cause and creating shared value economy. All
cumulated data through years along with successful Patagonia step ahead initiatives should be aligned to
implement such policies in favor of SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production patterns) to impact
not just Patagonia or clothing industry, but also to propagate this wave to other industries and sectors.
The key element to build a successful story is by starting in a small area or country and promote it as
prototype example.

On the other hand, the apparel industry externalities are not limited to environmental impacts but also
humanitarian aspects arise (1). Labor abuse (poor working conditions, long hours of work, low wages) and
child labor are 2 social factors usually forgotten. Approximately 430 million people work in the fashion
industry (2). According to the International Labor Organization numbers in 2012, at least 170 million
children were involved in clothing industry for the US and the EU. In other words, 40% of labor is
maintained by child labor. If Patagonia with all its forces succeeded to mobilize the public opinion
worldwide in a way to reduce the child labor numbers by at least 50% (through education and schooling
programs in developing countries), this will reduce the total number of labors in this industry by

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Nadim EL KARY Ethics and Sustainability
MBA HEC Paris Patagonia Individual Assignment
J23 – ES1 CSR and Circular Economy
May 18th, 2023
approximately 10%. Assuming that the relation between labor and production is linear, this amount of
reduction in labor will reflect into a reduction of production by approximately 10% as well. This may
disrupt the rethinking model of circular economy and play a major part in changing mentality of
unrestricted production growth.

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Nadim EL KARY Ethics and Sustainability
MBA HEC Paris Patagonia Individual Assignment
J23 – ES1 CSR and Circular Economy
May 18th, 2023
Appendix
Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2
Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia sustainable culture journey
1960s: Yvon Chouinard developing Hexes to protect mountains surfaces
1970s: Healthy low carbon footprint food in Patagonia’s cafeteria
1986: 1% for the Planet
1991: Environment impact study related to Patagonia’s clothing fibers
1996: Conventional cotton eliminated from Patagonia’s line
2005: Common Threads and Worn Wear program to optimize circular economy
2011: Fifth “R” (Reimagine) to reduce resource consumption and preserve ecosystems

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Nadim EL KARY Ethics and Sustainability
MBA HEC Paris Patagonia Individual Assignment
J23 – ES1 CSR and Circular Economy
May 18th, 2023
References
1- https://sites.duke.edu/sociol342d_01d_s2017_team-7/6-1-social-factors-unfinished/

2- Zippia. "28 Dazzling Fashion Industry Statistics [2023]: How Much Is The Fashion
Industry Worth" Zippia.com. Mar. 6, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/fashion-
industry-statistics/