The Splendor of Patagonia. The Meaning of Repairing and Wearing Clothes for Decades.

Working in the apparel industry, I engage with many different brands.

Among them, I feel that the Patagonia brand truly possesses a special presence. Beyond the quality of its functionality and materials, this brand consistently questions the very way we engage with the things we own.

In this article, I will delve into the background and significance of the "repair and continue to wear" culture that lies at the core of the Patagonia brand.

1973: A brand that began with a climber making "tools"

While the history of Patagonia began with its founding in California, USA, in 1973, its origins go back even further.

Founder Yvon Chouinard was a man captivated by rock climbing since the 1950s. Climbing gear at the time was of poor quality, so he learned blacksmithing and began handcrafting gear for himself and his friends. In 1966, he began manufacturing high-quality climbing tools in a workshop that was originally a boiler room in a meatpacking plant. By 1970, it had grown into the largest supplier of climbing gear in the United States.

When launching the apparel line, Yvon established the new Patagonia brand. Inspired by the rugged nature of the Patagonia region in South America, he chose that name for the brand.

The fact that the starting point was a "craftsman making tools" is deeply connected to the essence of Patagonia. Tools must be durable. They must be things that can be repaired and used for a long time—this philosophy was embedded in the foundation of the brand from the very beginning.

The shocking "Don't Buy This Jacket" advertisement

There is an episode that cannot be left out when talking about the Patagonia brand.

On Black Friday (the biggest shopping day in the US) in 2011, Patagonia placed a full-page ad in The New York Times. It contained the sentence, "DON'T BUY THIS JACKET," which was unthinkable for an apparel company.

The content of the ad detailed how much water, energy, and CO2 were consumed to make a single one of their popular fleece jackets, and it conveyed the message, "Please buy only what you really need."

An advertisement attempting to suppress the purchase of its own products—this was an action that fundamentally overturned the common sense of the apparel industry. But for Patagonia, this was a natural expression of a consistent philosophy. It was a clear declaration of intent that the brand's purpose was not to "sell a lot," but to "make things that can be used for a long time."

Worn Wear: An initiative that turned repair into a "culture"

The program that symbolizes Patagonia's repair culture is called "Worn Wear."

Worn Wear is a platform for repairing, recycling, and reselling Patagonia products. They have deployed events where trucks traveling around the world are equipped with repair facilities to fix Patagonia products on the spot for free. They also operate a program that buys back used Patagonia products, cleans and repairs them, and then resells them as second-hand items.

"Worn" means "worn out" or "well-used" in English. This naming, which views being well-used not as "deterioration" but as an "accumulation of value," perfectly expresses Patagonia's philosophy.

Furthermore, they hold workshops to teach customers who have purchased their products how to repair them. By increasing the number of people who can fix things themselves, they reduce the amount of waste—this is a challenge to consumer culture itself that goes beyond mere service.

The true meaning of wearing something for decades

The essence of Patagonia's repair culture lies in both "making clothes that can be used for a long time" and "nurturing people who want to continue using them for a long time."

Looking at the apparel industry as a whole, the "disposability" of clothing is a serious problem. A vast amount of clothing is discarded every year around the world, and much of it ends up in the trash after being worn only a few times. It is a fact that the spread of fast fashion has accelerated this trend.

The answer Patagonia provides is simple: "Make good products, and use them for a long time by repairing them." That is all. However, there are not many brands in the world that thoroughly practice this simple idea as a business.

Clothing that can be worn for decades requires high-quality materials and manufacturing as a prerequisite. That is why Patagonia has been thoroughly committed to the selection of materials and the quality of its sewing. Because the clothes are made to last, there is value in repairing them. This cycle is the very reason for the existence of the Patagonia brand.

The 2022 decision to transfer ownership to "Earth"

When talking about the Patagonia brand, one cannot avoid the historic decision made in 2022.

In September 2022, Yvon Chouinard announced that he would transfer all of Patagonia's shares to an environmental protection organization and a trust. The total value is said to be equivalent to approximately 3 billion dollars (about 430 billion yen).

It was not a sale to investors, nor was it an IPO. He chose a form where, literally, "Earth is the only shareholder." All profits generated by Patagonia will be used for environmental protection and climate change countermeasures.

Building vast wealth through business and then returning it all to the environment—this is not as easy as it sounds. Yvon's decision to follow through on this had a major impact not only on the fashion industry but on the global business world as well.

He proved through action the corporate mission statement: "We're in business to save our home planet."

The uniqueness of Patagonia from the perspective of the apparel industry

As an active apparel store clerk, I feel that the way people who love Patagonia "approach their clothes" is a little different from customers of other brands.

Customers bring in fleeces they have worn for years, asking, "Where can I get this repaired?" Others cherish old, faded jackets. Some tell me happily, "The items from this brand really last a long time."

The philosophy of "using things for a long time" that the Patagonia brand has conveyed is changing the very relationship customers have with their clothes—that is the impression I get on the front lines.

Conclusion: Repairing and continuing to wear clothes is the practice of a philosophy

The greatness of Patagonia is not just in its functionality or the quality of its materials.

It lies in the fact that the brand has consistently embodied the philosophy of "buying only what you really need and using it carefully for a long time" for over 50 years.

Repairing and wearing clothes for decades is not something that can be dismissed simply as "saving money" or being "eco-friendly"; it is a rethinking of how we approach things and the very act of consumption itself.

As someone in the fashion industry, the way this brand exists is something that makes me rethink things every time the era changes.