RIESTER

Monte Fitz Roy in Patagonia (South America) is the mountain used in the logo of the clothing company.

Is it good PR to point out how bad you are at something? In general it isn’t. But what if everyone else is bad at it too?

RIESTER is an admirer of Patagonia–a great American company. Patagonia has a cool program that they call the Footprint Chronicles. Through the Chronicles they remind us that everything they do leaves an impact on our planet. They strive every day to lighten their footprint and to do less harm to the planet.

This is a worthy goal. We all need to become more conscious of the footprint we leave behind. Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles spell out the damage done in manufacturing Patagonia’s popular clothing. For example the Chronicles tell us that their Rainshadow Jacket uses polyurethane technology. Patagonia describes this as “an old technology [that] requires harmful solvents to turn ingredients from liquid to solid; the shell also uses a water-repellant finish that contains perfluorooctanoic acid, a synthetic chemical that is now persistent in the environment; the nylon fabric used in the shell has no recycled content and, because of its polyurethane coating, is not recyclable.” They add the positives in their chronicles, pointing out that this raincoat meets their high performance standards. They also tell us that their supplier that works with polyurethane has one of the most advanced solvent recovery systems in the world.

If you don’t know much about Patagonia this may not seem too interesting, in fact you may just think they are an unthinking polluter who doesn’t care about recycling or the environment. Yet Patagonia has led the way by incorporating recycled materials into their clothing and they are known as being one at the forefront of action in environmental leadership. Since 1985 they have donated over $25 million to more than a thousand environmental groups.

By pointing out that their raincoat, among other things, contains something as evil sounding as perfluorooctanoic acid, they take a risk. But nearly every one of us does many things every day without thinking twice of the footprint we leave behind. How much Middle Eastern oil, for example, do you think that you’ve personally consumed and at what cost to our nation’s economy (by sending your dollars overseas) and to the environment?

By digging deeper and transparently reporting their findings, Patagonia is leading the way. Through the Footprint Chronicles they not only acknowledge this, they highlight it in a way that is evidence that they are committed to doing better. Isn’t that the best any of us can do?

I encourage you to check out the Footprint Chronicles on the Patagonia website at http://tinyurl.com/RIESTERforPatagonia