Raw materials and finished goods manufacturing accounted for 92 percent of Patagonia\u2019s footprint in fiscal year 2025, according to the 130-page narrative, which pulls together disclosures that the Ventura, California, company makes on its website, through certification audits and to nonprofits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patagonia, which had revenue of $1.5 billion in FY2025, compiled the information so employees, customers and suppliers could learn more about the evolving best practices that it uses to reduce emissions. Since its 2017 baseline year, Patagonia\u2019s emissions are up about 19 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unique perspective<\/p>\n
As a private company, Patagonia isn\u2019t required to report its climate progress, but the company\u2019s leadership felt it important to counter the rise of greenhushing and to demonstrate that companies should still talk about their work<\/a>. It hasn\u2019t committed to a publishing cadence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPatagonia is not perfect by any means,\u201d Founder and ex-CEO Yvon Chouinard, now 87, said in a note leading the \u201cWork in Progress\u201d report. \u201cWe do not have all the answers, but the fear of getting things wrong in the process cannot stop us from trying to get things right in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s near-term targets include reducing emissions from its direct operations and purchased electricity by 80 percent by 2030, compared with 2017. Patagonia has pledged to cut absolute emissions from its supply chain by 55 percent in that same timeframe.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chouinard, along with current CEO Ryan Gellert, oversees Patagonia\u2019s climate strategy and approves long-term, multimillion-dollar decarbonization investments. Patagonia is organized under a unique ownership structure: the Patagonia Purpose Trust owns the voting stock (2 percent) with the rest held by Holdfast Collective, an environmental nonprofit that has received $180 million in dividends since it was created in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Progress: It\u2019s complicated<\/p>\n Patagonia gives itself passing grades on two of four 2025 environmental goals in the report: eliminating \u201cforever\u201d chemicals from its fabrics and buying 100 percent of materials from \u201cpreferred\u201d sources certified as having reduced climate impacts.<\/p>\n It reached 84.4 percent overall for the latter goal, but made particular progress on using recycled polyester (93 percent) and nylon (89 percent), which significantly reduced the company\u2019s dependence on products made from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n Patagonia measures every product using its proprietary Ironclad Quality Index, which evaluates design metrics such as how materials can reduce environmental impact; manufacturing indicators, in an effort to minimize defects that cause returns; and use factors such as durability.<\/p>\n \u201cResponsibly made high-quality products that are multifunctional, durable and repairable can be used for years and years,\u201d the company said in the report. \u201cAs a result, they reduce waste and take full advantage of valuable resources already extracted. Quality, for us, is an environmental attribute.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, Patagonia\u2019s Black Hole Duffel has a score of 9.3 (out of 10), compared with a score of 7.2 in 2016. One reason was a decision to replace a thermoplastic polyurethane made from virgin petroleum with a recycled material that had the same qualities but had a matte finish instead of a shiny one. The potential risk to sales was worth it, the company said.<\/p>\n Supply chain: the path forward<\/p>\n The report also outlines several new initiatives intended to encourage more direct action on decarbonization in Patagonia\u2019s supply chain \u2014 which contributed 95 percent of its emissions in FY2025. They include:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/82.jpg\")
A breakdown of Patagonia\u2019s footprint by emissions type. Source: PatagoniaSource: Patagonia<\/p>\n