Once you are committed to the sustainability path, the road never ends. Just when you think you are doing all you can to reduce waste, improve resource efficiencies, and collaborate with your community at large, you see something else that can be tackled and can possibly lead to new lines of business.
This is what is happening at Patagonia. This company continues to be a sustainability leader on a never-ending search to do things better. Often, they look at how their products affect different areas of the environment. We know a variety of Patagonia Clothing products are made from wool which is a product of the sheep. After learning of some grazing practices that impact the environment, Pataogina took action.
Recently they have got involved in restoring the grasslands of Patagonia which is an immense area located in South America that includes Argentina and Chile territory. They recognized that the sheep raised there for their products might cause over grazing of the grasslands. Overgrazing leads to erosion and the degradation of the land. To solve this problem, this project is being done in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Argentine rancher network, Ovis XXI. The Nature Conservancy will assist in the scientific aspect of the project and Orvis XXI will produce the wool. Like many sustainability programs, a clever name has been given to the project, GRASS. This stands for grassland regeneration and sustainability standards.
Patagonia will be offering Merino Wool products from this region in the fall of 2013. This is an example of how intimately Patagonia understands the concept of a supply chain and how to correctly implement the steps to produce an outstanding product and then thoughtfully look at how they impact the world we live in. When we, as consumers, look at our own personal ethics, is this the type of product you can get your arms and truthfully you wallets around? Patagonia can be found at www.patagonia.com.
