WASHINGTON — On potentially the most lucrative online shopping day since the creation of the Internet, Patagonia says, Don’t buy our jackets.
As a part of their initiative to promote awareness of “environmental bankruptcy,” the outdoor clothing company urges its customers to consider the effect of consumerism on the planet before spending a dime on Cyber Monday.
“The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing,” Patagonia says according to their website, which features their Common Threads pledge. Retailers worldwide use the resources of one and a half planets, they say. This accommodates a culture of consumerism reflected in days like Cyber Monday, originally created by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to bookend the weekend after Black Friday.
“Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time – and leave a world inhabitable for our kids – we want to do the opposite of every other business today,” the company says. “We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.”
Online sales on Cyber Monday were up early afternoon by 20 percent from a year ago, according to data from IBM Benchmark. At department stores, online sales were up 39 percent, while they were up 24 percent at apparel stores. Meanwhile, sales from mobile devices were up 8.5 percent.
The company draws attention to resources like fresh water, topsoil, fisheries and wetlands that suffer from creating products. Fabricating the R2 Jacket featured on their pledge page required 135 liters of water, roughly the same amount required per day for 45 people.
Through the other steps to make this coat, Patagonia generates nearly two-thirds its weight in waste.
To learn more about the Patagonia initiative, follow this link.
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