Compassionate Workplace Part 1: Patagonia, Inc.
What happens when organizations prioritize people and the planet, and how do they create systems of compassion? What does a compassionate workplace look like?
These are questions I’ve been asking for a couple of years, and that’s the focus of my book, A Case for Compassion – What Happens When You Prioritize People and the Planet.
I researched compassionate workplaces and wrote about them in Chapter 7. In the chapter, I feature a few organizations that exemplify compassion with the hopes that others will be inspired to follow their lead.
Here’s an excerpt from the book, and it’s about one of my favorite brands—Patagonia. Please note the discussion questions at the end. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave comments.
Patagonia, Inc.
One US-based company’s high-quality products and healthy company culture have made it one of the most popular retail brands and places to work in the world. Since its inception, Patagonia, Inc. has prioritized the health of the planet and the well-being of its employees.
I read the book Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard ten years ago when I started Compassion It. As an entrepreneur, I wanted to learn from founders who could teach me how to be sustainable financially as well as environmentally. Around the same time, I was becoming interested in eco-friendly fashion and was disgusted by fast fashion.
According to Earth.org, ninety-two million tons of clothes-related waste gets produced each year, and 20 percent of global wastewater comes from textile dyeing (Igini 2022). As a major contributor to climate change, the fashion industry needs more companies like Patagonia.
I devoured Chouinard’s philosophy on business, which he originally penned in 2005 as a philosophical manifesto for his employees. The book opened my eyes and my mind, and one particular story in the book has stayed with me for the past decade.
A Turning Point
After many years of tremendous annual growth, Patagonia hit a wall during the early 1990s’ recession. The company had planned on continued growth, and it ordered inventory, hired employees, and ran its operations based on those predictions. Those inflated predictions led to a crisis for the company. Instead of the thriving organization he normally led, Chouinard had a new reality to face. And he wasn’t entirely sure how to do so.
In his book he wrote, “We had to look to the Iroquois and their seven-generation planning, and not to corporate America, as models of stewardship and sustainability. As part of their decision process, the Iroquois had a person who represented the seventh generation in the future… we had to begin to make all our decisions as though we would be in business for a hundred years.”
The seventh-generation principle wove its way into Patagonia—from its financial decisions to the materials it uses for its products. Looking ahead one hundred years has contributed to the company’s success. Because it’s privately owned, Patagonia’s financials aren’t public. However, an online Time article reported that sales have quadrupled in the past decade and now surpass one billion dollars annually (Semuels 2019).
Patagonia is known for its Earth-friendly outdoor and adventure wear. While I’m a fan of Patagonia’s apparel and own a couple of its jackets, I’m a bigger fan of its mission to serve the planet.
Patagonia proudly states its corporate values on its website:
Build the best product
Our criteria for the best product rests on function, repairability, and, foremost, durability. Among the most direct ways we can limit ecological impacts is with goods that last for generations or can be recycled so the materials in them remain in use. Making the best product matters for saving the planet.
Cause no unnecessary harm
We know that our business activity—from lighting stores to dyeing shirts—is part of the problem. We work steadily to change our business practices and share what we’ve learned. But we recognize that this is not enough. We seek not only to do less harm, but more good.
Use business to protect nature
The challenges we face as a society require leadership. Once we identify a problem, we act. We embrace risk and act to protect and restore the stability, integrity and beauty of the web of life.
Not bound by convention
Our success—and much of the fun—lies in developing new ways to do things (Patagonia n.d.).
These aren’t just empty words on a website. Patagonia has contributed more than $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to date to grassroots nonprofits working to protect people and the planet.
It’s clear that people want to work for a company that cares. The same 2019 Time article about Patagonia’s innovative approach to capitalism reports, “More than nine thousand people applied for sixteen internship positions last summer. Prospective employees are attracted by perks like on-site childcare, a cafeteria selling subsidized organic meals, and the opportunity to surf or hike at lunchtime.”
Patagonia promotes environmental activism, and it’s also outspoken about supporting women in the workplace. “Making onsite childcare available and offering paid family and medical leave is not just ethical, it’s foundational to Patagonia’s mission to save the home planet,” said Patagonia President Jenna Johnson in a May 2022 press release by the nonprofit Marshall Plan for Moms. “To retain and attract top talent and create a more supportive and productive work culture, we need policies that encourage women to stay here. I don’t even think of this as a ‘benefit,’ it’s a business imperative” (Cision PR Newswire 2022).
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Questions to ponder:
- What stands out to you about Patagonia’s values?
- What would need to change within your organization if its leaders and board looked seven generations ahead?
- What’s a small step your organization can take to move closer to Patagonia’s ethos?
Learn more about how Compassion It can support organizations and leaders through trainings and coaching.