Wake Up! Fast Fashion is Dead!: How Patagonia took CSA to the next level

Overconsumption of clothing has been a problem since the late 90’s when fast fashion took off and the Internet with the start of eCommerce. The term fast fashion was “coined by the New York Times to describe Zara’s mission to take only 15 days for a garment to go from the design stage to being sold in stores” (Good On You). With this fast turnaround time, large manufacturers hope their consumers will pick up on the trends they see on the runway and want to purchase quickly. Just for these items of clothing to only get a few wears because of fast-changing trend cycles and poor quality of clothing.

Now more than ever, it is important for brands in the fashion industry to make an effort to combat fast fashion and find ways to reuse and recycle fabrics and garments into something new. Patagonia has been a brand dedicated to sustainability for years, but recently they took major corporate social action (CSA) by donating nearly their entire company to fight climate change. How did they do this, you ask? Because their CEO, Yvon Chouinard decided that, “The privately held company’s stock will now be owned by a climate-focused trust and group of nonprofit organizations, called the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective respectively, the company said in a statement, noting ‘every dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet’” (CNBC). This is monumental for a large fashion- house company to come out with a strong-stance against climate change, and from a PR- perspective, it had amazing results. The whole world was talking about Patagonia when they donated their 3-billion dollar valued company to enact change in a space many fall too short.

This is not the first example of Patagonia being passionate for the environment, as they have been investing in sustainable measures since their founding in 1973. Because of this, Patagonia is also certified as a B-Corp Business, which is defined as “businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose” (Cultivating Capital). There are less than 2,000 companies in the US that are certified as B-Corps, which is a frustratingly low number. More brands should look towards Patagonia’s mission for sustainability and fight against climate change as a guideline for good measures in the fashion industry.

There are also several very influential figures who essentially run the fashion industry and have the ability to make a large shift towards sustainability from what we see on the runways to in stores. Targeting these individuals and using Patagonia as an example of good CSA could help find an end to fast fashion. These individuals have the power to change the narrative in the fashion industry and say goodbye to fast fashion for good. However, the question is if they are willing to say goodbye to short-term profits in order to save the planet.