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The brand also introduced a line of clothing that incorporates recycled materials and uses organic cotton and other sustainable fibres. By adopting sustainable materials, Patagonia is making strides to reduce the environmental impact of its products and promote a circular economy.

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Why

Every year, conventional cotton crops are doused with millions of pounds of chemicals. In California alone in 2021, these crops were sprayed with nearly 1.5 million pounds of pesticides. Research has shown that extensive and intensive use of synthetic fertilizers, soil additives, defoliants and other substances wreak havoc on soil, water, air and many living things. The alternative is to eliminate synthetic chemical use and instead use organically grown cotton.

Our journey to organic cotton began in the 1990s, when we examined our cotton supply chains and the impact that farming these conventional varieties had on our planet. We had thought that cotton was "pure" and "natural" because it was made from a plant-we were right about the plant-but very little is pure or natural about cotton when it is grown conventionally. In the '90s, cotton pesticide use peaked at nearly 86 million pounds of chemicals applied to crops.

In 1996, we made a commitment to exclusively use 100% virgin cotton grown with organic practices that eliminate the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and GMO seeds in our products. We also incorporate recycled cotton into our raw materials whenever possible, reducing our CO₂e emissions by 82% per kilogram compared to conventional virgin cotton fiber, based on data from the Higg Materials Sustainability Index, version 3.6.

Where We Are

In addition to recycled cotton, we use three types of virgin cotton in Patagonia products:

Organic cotton: Farmers who grow their cotton without harmful chemicals reduce their reliance on big agrochemical companies and reduce their workers' exposure to potentially toxic and carcinogenic compounds. We began exclusively using 100% organic virgin cotton in all of our cotton products in 1996. Organically farmed cotton employs nature-based solutions to manage pests while supporting biodiversity, improving the quality of soil and often using less water.

Cotton in Conversion: Sometimes called "In-conversion Cotton" or "Transitional Organic" in the industry, Cotton in Conversion allows farms growing cotton with organic practices to sell their crop while they are in the process of getting certified. Our use of Cotton in Conversion rewards farmers who are committed to reaching organic cotton certification and helps them stay on the path to organic during the multi-year transition. We began this journey with a supply chain partner in Peru, who offers technical assistance and pays a premium to these cotton farmers. Our first line of clothes made with Cotton in Conversion launched in Spring 2020.

Regenerative Organic Certified® Cotton: After committing to organic cotton in 1996, we began supporting farmers to grow cotton using Regenerative Organic Certified® practices, which prioritizes organic, no- and low-till methods that build healthy soil and respect the welfare of people and animals. We piloted a first crop of Regenerative Organic Certified cotton in India in 2018, working with more than 150 farmers to implement this highest organic standard. Since then, the cotton program has grown to include over 1,000 farmers. In Spring 2022, we launched our first collection of Regenerative Organic Certified cotton products.

What's Next

We hope to launch even more Cotton in Conversion and Regenerative Organic Certified apparel as our program progresses in the next few years. We believe it's possible to grow food and fiber in a way that promotes soil health and accelerates positive change for people and the environment. It's not just about doing less harm, but doing some good through the process, too.

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Patagonia committed to organic cotton back in 1996. Today, we're partnering with farmers working toward the highest organic cotton standard.

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The Circular Supplies business model is defined as fully renewable, recyclable, or biodegradable resource inputs that serve as feedstock, or raw materials, for a different production process. The overall goal of this business model is to lessen an organization’s dependence on new resources. This approach is especially important for companies that depend on scarce resources or commodities.

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A prime example of this is The Circle House, which is expected to be completed north of the Danish city of Aarhus in 2023. The Circle house project, led by 3XN Architects, is devised to be a blueprint for circular construction in Denmark, with 90% of its building material able to be demounted and reused or resold without loss of value.

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About 3XN

We take an innovative approach to architecture by combining science and art with a deep understanding of people and environment. Our green innovation unit, GXN, focuses on developing sustainable building materials, technologies and practices. The result of our expertise is iconic and humane architecture featuring cutting-edge green solutions and technologies.

In 3XN we believe that Architecture shapes behaviour. Therefore we try to create places where people can interact and communicate. Buildings, like people, are more than just the sum of their many parts, and we believe that it is possible to achieve a synthesis of design, function and environment.

We focus on cultural buildings, corporate headquarters and educational institutions. Amsterdam Music Hall, The Museum of Liverpool and Ørestad College in Copenhagen are some of the well-known buildings of 3XN. However we have also received several honors and distinctions for iconic projects like Middelfart Savings Bank and Horten Law Headquarters, which both feature innovative ways of achieving sustainable architecture through an exploration of both form and technology.

Recently, we have released our new book 'Building a Circular Future', which explores how the industry can implement a circular building practice, by eleminating waste and optimizing the reuse of building materials. The book is available open source at buildingacircularfuture.com

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We take an innovative approach to architecture by combining science and art with a deep understanding of people and environment.

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Spotify is a music streaming company that allows access to unlimited music with a monthly fee. This allows for consumers to get music updated when it comes out without being obligated to purchase DVDs.

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Netflix is a streaming company that opens access to a service with unlimited movies and shows to individuals rather than having to pay for individual downloads or DVDs. By Netflix providing this solution to customers, they add value to individuals and expand their success in the market.

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WeWork is a company that provides flexible workspace solutions, including traditional offices, shared workspaces, and office suites with private amenities. WeWork makes agreements to enable their landlords to share in the success of flexible workspaces within their buildings while minimizing the company's exposure to fixed, long-term leases.

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Mr Green Africa is a Kenyan plastics recycling start-up. They buy collected used consumer plastics and industrial waste as feedstock and sell recycled plastic pellets of different colors and qualities.

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Philips Refurbished Systems – Philips enables hospitals to upgrade their medical equipment (like MRIs and CT scanners) by trading-in their old equipment for a discount on new systems.

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Planned for a Spring/Summer 2021 release, FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is Adidas‘ first running shoe that is “made to be remade.”

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Turn in your phone system where Vodafone will make a new product from your broken product

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Overview: Resource Recovery model is a major part of the Circular Business model in which the main goal is to increase sustainability and, more specifically, to reuse and recover resources instead of taking new ones from the natural environment.

Definition: A Systematic Approach designed to guide the efficient and sustainable management of resources within the product's system to recover, reuse, and recycle.

Description: This model is applied by Asessing the resource and its environmental waste impact, identifying the level of difficulty to recover and reuse it, and taking action to recycle and eventually reuse the product again.

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Ikea is an effective example of a company with a circular business model, putting the focus on the resource recovery. They do this by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling the old products as not to waste resources, which also saves them money.

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Uber is a great example of Sharing Models, as customers are able to order an Uber, the driver than takes the customer to the destination, and continues doing so with other customers. Therefore, the driver is able to use his car to drive around many customers to their destinations.

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Product-Service System models are business models that provide for cohesive delivery of products and services The models focus on giving customers better value and being more sustainable.

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Above in an example of how Apple incorporates a circular business model to recover their damaged products and save resources and money. They have several ways in which they put the used resources in their products to good use, on of which includes giving the customers the option to trade in old products for discounts and refurbishing the old product so they can resell it.

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HM - Recycling old clothes

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Apple - Refurbishing iPhones

Patagonia - Fixing jackets for free; hand-downs

IKEA - Buying back and reselling old furniture

Adidas - "Three loop strategy"

Recycling plastic waste

Designing shoes that can be remade

Using biodegradable materials

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its a peer to peer rental market place (sharing economy). An owner rents out an unused area or house for others to use. It reduces the need for building new hotels through taking advantage of already existing buildings.

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A type of Circular Business model where businesses encourage customers to collaborate and share to increase the value and usage of a product.

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Product life extension models involve extending the life of products. The materials that make up the products remain in the economy longer, therefore reducing the extraction of natural sources (since they are not infinite).