“How can I trust you again?” Couple’s therapy for brands and their communities - Part 2

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GORP-Core and the Legend of Patagonia

GORP: Good Old Raisins (and) Peanuts

GORP-core: a style expression that uses utilitarian clothing normally worn for outdoor activities.

Unlike many legacy activewear brands that cater to the genteel outdoorspeople, Patagonia pulled their community’s green heart strings by making themselves the example of corporate social responsibility.
Founded in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard, an accomplished rock climber and entrepreneur, Patagonia started as an activewear and supplies store and transformed into a $750 million profit business by 2015.

An image of the Patagonia tag sewn on the inside of a garment. Image credit: Fashion United, Beeld via Unsplash.

Ever-conscious of the earthly and human resources used to make their clothes, in 1985 Chouinard decided to give one per cent of sales to environmental organizations every year. In 2011, Patagonia bought a full page ad in The New York Times that urged consumers “not to buy this jacket” to raise awareness of overconsumption in clothing. In 2012, Patagonia announced that paying living wages to workers that made their clothes would be a priority.
In 2019, Patagonia decided their branded products — their fleece vests have been popular among financial execs since the late 2010s, would focus on firms committed to environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives. In 2020, Patagonia launched a campaign urging shoppers to demand more from clothing brands:

“Demand recycled. Demand organic. Demand Fair Trade.”

In 2022, Patagonia sent their community’s hearts soaring when Chouinard gave away 98% of his shares to newly established NGO Holdfast Collective, which pledged to keep fighting the environmental crisis and protecting nature. As of right now, future profits from the company go directly to solving climate change instead of Chouinard’s family or himself.
”Earth is now our only shareholder,” Chouinard said.

Patagonia’s 2011 ad in The New York Times. Image credit: Follow The Money

According to Wikipedia, the transfer also allows Chouinard to dodge paying taxes while maintaining control of the company.

Patagonia and Primark

In June 2023, Follow The Money (FTM), an independent journalism platform, reported that Patagonia’s clothes are made in the same factories as fast fashion — like Primark and Zara.

In fact, the Fair Label Association (FLA) published an evaluation of seven Patagonia factories, three in Vietnam, three in Sri Lanka and one in China, and found dozens of violations that range from employees being paid less overtime, and employee ages not being recorded (leaving no evidence of child labour laws being broken).

The common violation among all the factories was that textile workers that made Patagonia’s clothes work longer hours than legally allowed and stated in their code of conduct: up to 17 hours a day and more than 80 hours a week.

The Fast Fashion Model — A Rough Breakdown

In order to keep up with the speed of the latest trends and keep prices low for producing and selling clothes, fast fashion brands outsource the work to countries where the demand for manual labour is high. The factories in the out-sourced countries sign contracts with brands, promising to deliver a certain quantity of garments within a tight timeframe. If the factory fails to deliver on time, they may lose another contract or be forced to compensate brands for unfulfilled orders: “by any means necessary” becomes the invisible yolk around factory workers’ necks. Outsourcing also gives brands a plausible excuse, they have “no control” over how factories — in another country with its own labour laws, choose to meet their deadlines. The near-impossible work agreement combined with the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome has left workers exposed to long hours, harassment, poor working conditions, and little pay, to name a few.

‘No difference,’ and ‘No control’

Kevin Fernando manages Regal Image, a factory in Srki Lanka. Regal Images produces clothes for Decathlon, GAP, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Amer Sports, Asics, Target, supermarket Aldi and fast-fashion icons ASOS, Boohoo, H&M and Zara.

They also produce clothes for Patagonia.

”So far, we don’t really notice any difference between working with Patagonia and working with Primark or Decathlon,” Fernando said.

All is (not) Well

Despite Fernando assuring the Follow The Money (FTM) reporter on tour of Regal Image that his employees work a maximum of 10 hours a day, five days a week, a line manager shared his regular shift hours: 8:00 a.m. - 9:45 p.m.
”It’s busy,” Fernando said.

Priya, a worker from a different factory that also occasionally makes clothes for Patagonia, summed up her typical workday:
”The worst part is the scolding…My supervisor’s manager is a terrible man. He touches everyone in a bad way, and if you say you don’t want that, you have a problem. He yells at me if I have to go to the bank or the doctor. ‘Then who will do the work? Who will meet the target?’ And he’s not the only one. They talk to us like we are animals,” she said.

When asked about meeting production targets specifically, Priya described how the fast fashion model puts workers in a lose-lose situation. "The other day, Lululemon placed a huge order, and now everyone is stressed.
On the first day, we had to make seventy items per hour, but on the second day, it was suddenly a hundred. Otherwise, we won’t make the delivery date," she said. Not making the delivery date means no bonus, and no bonus means her salary drops to 32,000 rupees a month ($517 CAD). After paying for housing and one meal, she has no money for anything else.

A stock image of a worker’s hands sewing a garment.

Patagonia Responds

With allegations that are the antithesis of everything Patagonia claims to stand for — the accusations include workers allegedly using drugs to meet production deadlines, Patagonia sent Follow The Money this statement:

“We are working with our suppliers and partnering with labor experts to devise and pilot strategies that would enable the factory to pay their workers more everything from securing efficiencies in production lines to improving human resource management systems to true cost pricing of goods. This is complex work that we are committed to figuring out with our suppliers.

One way Patagonia seeks to address the living wage gap is through the premiums that results from our commitment to Fair Trade USA. Patagonia has paid out millions of dollars in Fair Trade premiums in Sri Lanka alone, and globally, those premiums have gone to more than 75,000 workers in 10 countries. They can be utilized however the workers choose – workers have opted to cash them out, fund an on-site childcare center, and start a health and sanitation program. And, once Patagonia pays the fee to certify the factory, other brands can join and contribute to the premiums.”

Final Thoughts

Sadly, if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably worse. Patagonia earned about $1.5 billion in revenue as of 2022, they can afford to make the changes they claim to care about.
Sustainability has gotten more complicated since the 70s. Changes in technology, consumer habits and consumer consciousness have made it challenging for brands to do the bare minimum. Smarter marketing around consumer habits have made it harder for us to call out brands and manage our own shopping habits.
Where does that leave Patagonia supporters, the people who bought their clothes as a reflection of themselves?
We will have to wait and see.

References

Van Heugten, Y. (2023, June 12). Sustainable clothing brand Patagonia manufactures in the same factories as fast-fashion; textile workers are being exploited. Follow the Money - Platform for Investigative Journalism. https://www.ftm.eu/articles/sustainable-clothing-brand-patagonia-uses-same-suppliers-fast-fashion-brands-do-workers-exploited?share=lCcpwsvIHcekf7CA6ab0AkReklf8uaI2nK73CzkCGeS6XFRtuBoWLzz8hGZNSDc%3D

Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Patagonia, Inc. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia,_Inc.

Lijbaart, S. (2023, June 15). FTM: “Patagonia exploits textile workers and produces in fast fashion factories.” FashionUnited. https://fashionunited.in/news/business/ftm-patagonia-exploits-textile-workers-and-produces-in-fast-fashion-factories/2023061540255