Patagonia has long been known as a company that wears its values on its sleeve. The work culture is based on hiring for values fit over job experience. Work-life balance is strongly supported, including now-famous surfing breaks. And their commitment to the environment, through policies of using recycled or low impact materials, encouraging customers to buy fewer items, and generous return policies or free repairs, is without equal in the industry. Before corporate social responsibility was a popular concept, Patagonia declared their commitment to better outcomes for their workers, and the planet. But that commitment came with the added pressures of remaining profitable.
In trying to create a balance between ethics and profits, they discovered issues of exploitation and poor working conditions in their own supply chain – the very issues they sought to avoid. This was exacerbated by the birth of internet shopping. They lost track of their supply chain and realized they could no longer live up to their fair labor commitments. To regain their status, they began a process of enshrining their values and principles in all aspects of their teams, how they function and work together. This involved three key strategies: empowering employees to embody the values; openly evaluating company decisions and actions; and a steadfast commitment to holding themselves accountable. When this evaluation and accountability uncovered another crisis in their supply chain, Patagonia partnered with third-party organizations like Fair Trade USA and the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. Through this action they ensured (as much as possible), that their entire supply chain was consistent with their core values. And it seems that the more Patagonia doubles down on its values, the better it performs. In this episode, we hear from Craig Wilson, former lead strategist for consumer marketing at Patagonia; Bethany Patten, Senior Associate Director for MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative and Maya Spaull, Vice President of apparel and home goods at Fair Trade USA. We also speak with Andrew Kenney, a journalist who got insider access to see how Patagonia is redefining its business processes.
Teamistry is an original podcast from Atlassian.
