Patagonia, going, gone!

The always thoughtful and sustainably-minded geniuses who run Patagonia have just put the future ahead of profits in an especially creative and brilliant way. (Did I get enough superlatives in there?) This is something that most green-minded designers wrestle with. My work is designing stuff, and I like things, but the truth is, reducing consumption is probably the biggest change we can make. Patagonia clothing is made to be super durable, and often outlasts any one person's desire to own it. 

So they've partnered with eBay's green team:

"Keeping existing, perfectly functioning products in use, rather than in the back of a closet, reduces the demand on our air, water and land to create new ones. Each American throws away about 65 pounds of clothing and textiles per year, according to the EPA. And demand for textiles, like polyester, made from petroleum has almost doubled in the last 15 years. So using clothes that already exist, and selling what you’re no longer using, is a simple yet powerful act...."

The Common Threads Initiative is an eBay storefront where you can buy and sell gently used Patagonia branded gear. This is one more example of the company making it easier to keep their products out of the landfill.  


Images from Patagonia and current (as of post time) eBay listings. Via ecouterre.