Patagonia is an outdoor brand established by an alpinist who has learned the greatness as well as the harshness of nature. The functionality and simple designs of Patagonia's products have engendered enormous trust, and have been attracting people from all over the world. Patagonia, staying intimate with nature, has employees who enjoy outdoor sports such as rock climbing and surfing, through which they commune with nature. They have been faced by the reality that nature is in danger of destruction and they have been trying to protect our environment as a result of that realization. Patagonia's Japanese branch, located in Kamakura, told us about the present situation of their activities and an unknown project that is taking place in Patagonia in South America today.

+81: Please tell us about Patagonia's viewpoint on environmental issues today.
Patagonia(P): Patagonia started out as an outdoor brand that makes clothes and tools for people to fully enjoy nature. We use our business as a vehicle to reduce adverse effects on nature, to sp-eak out on environmental issues and to then take appropriate action to solve these issues. Keeping these things in mind, we devote ourselves to making high-quality clothes and tools.

+81: How are you involved in the conservation of the environment through your products?
P: We choose materials and manufacturing processes to make products that are the least harmful to the environment. It has been 10 years since we started using 100% organic cotton. In America, 10% of all pesticides are used for cotton, but cotton only accounts for 1% of all US crops. Pesticides contain a lot of chemical substances that pollute the soil, water and the air, threatening many species in the world. After learning that, we began using 100% organic cotton in our products. It takes time to grow and nurture 100% organic cotton, and it requires expertise and special techniques, not to mention the fact that it's much more costly. Wearing clothes made with cotton grown by organic methods means conserving the environment for generations to come, but best of all, it feels very comfortable against your skin. Using organic cotton sends a message that we are in need of products made with responsible processes.
We make fleece products with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and have also just started a program called Common Threads Recycling Program in which we collect worn out Capilene products and turn them into new products.

+81: Tell us about Patagonia's activities aside from your products.
P: Since 1985, we have been donating 1% of our sales or 10% of our pretax profits, whichever is higher, to grass-roots activists and groups that work to conserve the environment. Since we started this, we have donated over 20 million dollars and commodities. Also, we have reached a decision that, if we can share our profits, then we might be able to share work and time, too. Our employees, who regularly experience and interact with nature, see how human beings have damaged the earth. They have been filled with the desire to take action to protect nature. We launched an internship program in 1993 that allows our employees to work for environmental organizations and groups with full pay for up to 2 months.

+81: Please tell us about the trust program that's taking place in the Patagonia region.
P: The former CEO of Patagonia, Kris McDivitt Tompkins established Conservacion Patagonica in 2000. This NPO's mission is to protect, improve and maintain diverse species and eco-systems of the wilderness of the Patagonian region that runs across Argentina and Chile. This region is known to be preserving a large scale of species, but it is facing many other issues as well, such as deforestation and mining development, livestock pasturing, excessive alien plant growth and water and air pollution. At the same time, the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, visited Patagonia to mountain climb. He was moved by the beautiful landscape and nature so much that he named his company after the region. Patagonia decided that now is the time for them to do something about keeping the beauty of this land forever, and has been holding hands with Conservation Patagonica, local environmental organizations and the government and participates in trust activities. Today, we have set the precious Patagonian wilderness, which is about the same size as Osaka prefecture (1,821km2), aside for preservation, using money that we donated. At the Argentine side, we have donated the land we had trusted to the government and built the first national park by the country's seashore.

+81: What activities are taking place there?
P: As a part of the internship program, we started dispatching our employees from the US, Hawaii, Japan and Europe to Patagonia as volunteers. Right now, we are trying to build the second national park in Chile. The first 6 members that we dispatched spent 3 weeks getting rid of alien plants and an 800 kilometer fence around a sheep ranch, in order to restore the land to its previous unique ecology. The second group completed their mission, and the third group is there completing their mission now. This activity is the first step in our grand project that will take place in the next 10 years or more. We have just taken the first step.

+81: We've heard that even the Patagonia stores and offices reflect the corporate philosophy about the environment.
P: We have been trying to reduce the burden on the environment by renovating and using existing buildings and collecting waste materials and turning them into something useful. The store in Sapporo, which opened in 2003, was an old stone warehouse built in the Meiji period. We renovated it and used Sapporo soft stones made of volcanic ash and pumice for the exterior walls, and diatomite, which is made of phytoplankton, for the floor. We have been doing all that is in our power to build and maintain an everlasting relationship with nature by approaching environmental conservation through, not only our products, but all possible aspects of our business.

http://www.patagonia.com/japan/index.shtml