87. How Patagonia became Patagonia with Vincent Stanley

Patagonia’s purpose is clear: It’s in business to save our home planet. And that clarity’s been present almost since day one of the iconic outdoor clothing and gear company. But how and why was that anchoring mission adopted from the jump? And how has the nearly 50-year-old organization evolved its practices to support its resolute pledge to sustainability? Luckily, there’s someone with answers to these questions: Vincent Stanley is Patagonia’s Director of Philosophy and co-author with Yvon Chouinard of The Responsible Company.

In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak to Vincent about Patagonia’s better-known successes, lesser-known failures, the experiments it’s had to flex during the pandemic, and what a responsible company of the future can and should look like.

Learn more about Vincent and Patagonia:

• On LinkedIn
• At Patagonia's website
• By reading The Responsible Company

Mentioned references:

• X-Acto knife
• B Corp
• Yvon Chouinard
• tagua nuts
• beginner's mind
• greenwashing
• 9/80 work week
• Andy Rivkin, environmental writer
• Unilever
• Danone
• Let My People Go Surfing, book by Yvon Chouinard

Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

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