Patagonia

We were honored to host Congressman Salud Carbajal at our Ventura campus recently, when he toured our onsite childcare facility, Great Pacific Child Development Center. Patagonia has provided care and education for employees’ children since 1983, and Carbajal has introduced legislation to help more companies provide childcare by increasing an outdated tax credit and enabling small businesses to team up and share tax benefits. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gsy6zRtk Photo: Congressman Salud Carbajal meets Bianca Botta, marketing manager for trail running and hiking, and her baby, Luca, outside Patagonia’s Great Pacific Child Development Center. Photo by J.J. Huggins

The salmon industry in Chilean Patagonia faces a growing opposition. This is the subject of an article published this week in The New York Times about environmental groups, Indigenous people, and scientific communities seeking to halt the growth of the highly polluting salmon farming industry in the once pristine waters of Chile's Patagonia. What for some, is a story of “economic success” is also one of depredation, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. The expansion of salmon farming to the southernmost region of Chile and the opposition of the Kawésqar community are part of the story of our film "Corazón Salado," released in 2023. “We want them to leave our territory,” said Leticia Caro, activist and protagonist of the film, about this industry that has more than 130 concessions awaiting approval in the Magallanes Region. Read more on these issues at https://lnkd.in/gccJRTwn Watch "Corazón Salado" here: https://lnkd.in/gsg6dqCm

Patagonia has a long history of supporting environmental campaigners working to protect the last wild rivers of Europe. The Una River has been a focus of our work for many years because of its unique beauty and huge ecological importance. Therefore, we have been concerned to hear about the damage being done at Una Spring despite its high level of European nature protection. We are closely supporting communities on the ground and the international legal team in ensuring that construction stops before irreversible harm is done to the river. Through our global communities and our voice as a responsible business, we are calling on Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to show leadership and stop this construction work today. Europe is watching and hoping that you will act to protect this wild gem before it’s too late. Add your voice and support The Una: https://p2a.co/fvqlmlw

Fast fashion is addictive by design. The “Slow Fashion Caucus,” a group of legislators with support from organizations and businesses including Patagonia, is looking to change that by incentivizing repair and reuse, focusing on the development of a circular economy, and teaching the public about fast fashion’s impacts on the planet. Read on for founding member Rep. Chellie Pingree’s take on a new way to help break the addiction. https://lnkd.in/gqaEw8wu

The Una River known as “The One” because of its unique beauty, is governed by national and international nature protection regulations. But it is not safe. A local investor has started construction of a dam at the Una Spring in Croatia. In addition to the immediate threats this poses, it sets a dangerous precedent, undermining environmental laws and protections to safeguard our natural heritage. Together let’s send a message to the Croatian government that this construction must be stopped before it’s too late. Submit your email: https://p2a.co/fZl0Vdg

“We simplified the mission statement from ‘Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis’… to ‘We're in business to save our home planet.’ I was skeptical at first. I thought, this is highly aspirational language. Yes, that's a value of the company, but how central is that to us?”    Listen to Patagonia director of philosophy Vincent Stanley’s interview with Inc. about growing a business responsibly. https://lnkd.in/gUh_RB8G

In observance of Juneteenth, all of Patagonia’s U.S.-based stores will be closed Wednesday, June 19, 2024. We extend our gratitude to retired teacher Opal Lee, whose activism helped to nationally commemorate the emancipation of the last enslaved Africans and African Americans in the United States. Opal Lee was 89 years old when she began her walk to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, proving that you’re never too old to be an activist. In 2016 she walked over 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., at a pace of 2.5 miles a day to represent the 2.5 years that Black Texans remained enslaved after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Now 97, Lee is most gratified to see children’s eagerness to learn about the roots of the holiday. “It’s not a Texas thing and it’s not a Black thing. It’s freedom for all of us,” she says. “If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love.” Read more about Opal Lee’s activism and the significance of Juneteenth at https://lnkd.in/dvZxnhcs

“The Planet Needs Our Vote!” That’s why we are giving all European Patagonia employees the time they need to cast their vote in European Parliament elections this summer. And today, we join forces with Oatly to send this message to businesses across Europe.   Read the open letter from Nina Hajikhanian and Jean-Christophe Flatin and join the movement now.

“We have this enormous problem that is threatening the entire world.” Welcome to the age of cheap crap. Our new film The Shitthropocene is a mock anthropological view of humanity’s consumption habits, turning a satirical (yet brutally honest) eye on how everything is turning to shit and why the impulse toward “more” might destroy us all. Watch it now at https://lnkd.in/degP8z2m Directed by Black Mountain Film Company

We are honored to be featured in the latest Civics Inc. report by NationSwell. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the ways in which businesses can support a healthy democratic society. It offers practical tools and strategies that business leaders can use to promote democracy in their communities. You can access the full report below. https://lnkd.in/dQSc2TBY