Patagonia Review

    If you’re interested in environmental brands, you’ve probably heard of Patagonia. Patagonia is known for its long-lasting and incredibly comfortable clothes. On their website, they promote a LOT of environmental activism, including combating uranium, copper sulfide, and oil mining. They also provide funding for over a thousand environmental groups and they sponsor athletes who are activists. And while their attire can be quite pricey (up to $800 for a new jacket!), they are praised for their incredibly lenient return and exchange policy. There are an astounding number of online reviews that have some story along the lines of exchanging a ten-year old jacket with a broken zipper for a new, more expensive one (here’s a link to a reddit post with some stories: (https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/96ln5y/is_patagonia_clothing_worth_the_money/). They also have a branch of their company (called Worn Wear) dedicated to selling used apparel.

    However, they have also faced a lot of backlash for some unethical or unsustainable practices. In 2015, they were criticized when toxic chemicals were found in clothing. Some contain plastic microfibers, which can get into waterways through washing machines. These plastic microfibers are harmful to humans and animals and cannot be filtered because they’re so small. Therefore, they have been a growing problem in today’s age of fast fashion. More seriously, they were criticized for using forced labor (according to the Atlantic in 2011), although they denounce and deny the use of forced labor in their Code of Conduct. Forced labor is a huge problem in almost every consumer industry, so Patagonia is definitely not the only brand. Nike and Adidas, two of the biggest clothing companies, have been accused of using forced labor as well in addition to most if not all fast fashion brands.

    In my opinion, Patagonia is a great company. They encourage a lot more environmental activism than other companies and make clothes that are meant to last, making the price worth it. If you ever decide to buy from them, they also have huge sales twice a year. My parents have Patagonia clothing that they’ve had for maybe 20 or 30 years. I’d definitely recommend checking them out!