Sustainability from Patagonia

Patagonia has been a long admired company of ours for its quality products, innovation, and sense of responsibility for the environment. Long before anyone else, just because it was the right thing to do. The company started by Yvon Chouinard has been an inspiration for us here at bambu.

We’re in agreement with Yvon’s statement that,

‘everytime we make a decision that’s right for the environment, it makes us more money.’

Below he talks about sustainable business. It’s a subject he knows well, thanks to his years of innovation at Patagonia as well as his experience founding the organization One Percent for the Planet, an alliance of companies that pledge to donate 1% of revenues to environmental charities. bambu is proud to be one of the early members, and to have donated over $50,000 to people focused on protecting the environment.

Let My People Go Surfing is a wonderful account of how Yvon, through his passion, pursuit of excellence, and sense of the world around him, became an unlikely businessman.

Here he talks about sustainability with FAST COMPANY and to our surprise, about an unlikely ally: Wal-Mart.

We don’t fully share his positivity towards the mega-retailer. They’ve set some mighty ambitious goals and we applaud that. However, their recent Sustainability Report is received with mixed reviews. And the company’s mere megalopolis presence on the retail landscape creates enough impacts to be suspect.

From a different angle, we were really jazzed when Patagonia launched their newest communication tool last week. Patagonia clearly knows the value in communicating their message through innovative and effective channels. And The Shed is the newest coolest of these channels.

Patagonia – Sustainability from The Shed This is one of the hippest web environments we’ve ever visited. We want to go to these places, accomplish their feats, and marvel the environment in which these ‘ambassadors’ make their mark.

The Tin Shed is an interactive web application that combines the stories and dispatches of Patagonia’s sustainability ambassadors from around the world.

We loved watching the Waddington Steeps footage. WoW. Surfin Hawaii, Vintage images of the original Shed, the flyfishing pursuits, and the ambassadors that rip in in the Power of Jam.

Once again, a tip of the hat to the folks at Patagonia. You inspire us.