Profit with Purpose | Purpose Consultant | B Corp Certified | Keynote Speaker | Award Winning Author | Host of the "For Love & Money Podcast" | The Social Purpose Activist
Repair is a radical act. So says Patagonia, a clothing company! But when the same company is in business to save the planet, it starts to make sense. You may already know of Patagonia’s Worn Wear Program, one of many purpose-led initiatives from the business; with a philosophy that one of the most responsible things they can do is make high quality stuff that lasts so consumers don’t have to buy more. Repair is a central part of the program, along with celebrating “the stories we wear”. It invites consumers to keep our stuff in use longer. Contrasts with the current consumerist approach of buy, discard and buy more – right?! It also features Worn Wear popup shops, mobile tours and an online marketplace of second-hand Patagonia gear. As great as this is, Patagonia have now gone even further. They’ve just launched ReCrafted, a new line made from old clothes damaged beyond repair. Jackets, vests, shirts and bags, available at the Worn Wear website and their new pop-up store in Boulder, Colorado. We live in times where society is crying out for leadership. I'm betting on business leaders to step up. Patagonia's approach to business is a model we can all learn from. They’re in business to save the planet. What are you in business for? #purpose #socialpurpose #leadership
In our house we’ve been saying “work with what you have instead of what you don’t have.” We’re in business to support leaders who have lofty aspirations and need the energy to get there. Great initiative, thanks for sharing.
For us businesses, there is really a big role to play. We all wanted to make a change and serve people through our businesses. We help people, small to medium businesses to achieve their goals, so they can live the life they wanted to live.
I hope one day the art of repair needs to be as easy an option for the consumer. Very heartwarming!
This is some great leadership in action Carolyn Butler-Madden - we need more businesses like this to really make a positive change.
This reminds me a lot of the shared value initiative (sometimes call shared value project) that triggered by Michael E Porter and Mark Kramer. They term profit-driven social impact as “shared value.” Emerging evidence, although still limited and company-specific, suggests that companies that successfully implement strategies to create shared value deliver superior shareholder returns. And they certainly deliver superior returns for other stakeholders like employees, society and customers. We are in business to positively impact the quality of and success at work of leaders and employees in medium to large companies in order to the improve profits of the employers.
What an amazing business to save planet earth, interesting post, thanks for sharing Carolyn.
Great yarn Carolyn! I love the sustainable philosophy behind this and think that the days are here for the circular economy to lift to new heights for all the right reasons. I also think new consumers will be attracted to the style of store (in your image) as the old thinking on "second hand" involved visiting a dingy place with little atmosphere.
This just makes me happy Carolyn. Stories of such ingenuity and dedication to a purpose give us hope. Thank you so much for sharing this. I hope their recrafted clothes will come here? Love the backdrop too to the the logo. And those t-shirts, they're awesome.
Carolyn, what an excellent program. I think that many business leaders and businesses will be stepping up and considering and implementing business models that have a positive social consequences.
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4yVery cool concept