With much media attention on the COP28 meeting underway in the UAE this week, it seems like an appropriate time to delve into what makes one of the world’s most environmentally minded companies successful: Patagonia.
Patagonia is one of the most trusted brands in the world. The company ranked first in an Axios-Harris poll on the 100 most reputable U.S. companies earlier this year, marking the clothing company’s return to the top spot after dropping to third in 2022.
“I think one of the things that really interested me about the Axios-Harris poll is that we were the sixth most trusted company among Republicans,” Vincent Stanley, director of philosophy at Patagonia, tells Fortune. “This is great because that means they’re forgiving us for the stances we take.”
Aside from the quality of its products, Patagonia is renowned for its outspoken position on key issues, like climate change and fair trade—the sort of “woke” issues that flustered Republicans a year ago, but might be less of a hot-button topic now.
Although, to hear Stanley tell it, Patagonia’s advocacy and its product quality go hand in hand. The general public might find it “sanctimonious” when companies take on an issue that is “not related either to their product or to a long stance with that business,” Stanley says, but Patagonia only takes a stance on topics that fall within its expertise as a company.
Once again, authenticity emerges as the hallmark of trust. However, that’s not to say companies can’t discover their realm of influence extends further than first thought. Stanley likes to give the example—in his book The Future of the Responsible Company, which he coauthored with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and wherever else he can—of Samsung, the Korean technology giant which he inadvertently challenged to clean up water pollution.
During a meeting with Samsung execs in 2019, Stanley was lamenting that no washing machine manufacturer had created a machine capable of filtering out the microfibers clothes shed in wash before he blurted out, “Say, you make washing machines.” A year later, Samsung had innovated a new filter system for its washing machines. In 2023, Samsung expanded its product line to offer an improved filter, which cuts microfiber shedding 98% and can be attached to competitor products.
It’s a great example of how a company can turn an environmental solution into a business opportunity. Stanley says he thinks “the intrinsic motivation for human beings to do the right thing is actually kind of a secret force in business.” A moral mission can certainly motivate employees to work harder, and, when executives stick to their stated ethics, it enhances employee trust within the company.
“It takes more than competitive pay or humane employment policies to inspire employee commitment and trust,” Stanley and Chouinard say in their book. “Not everyone can satisfy their heart’s desire working for your company, but everyone could at least feel useful, and some even enlivened by what they do all day long.“
Eamon Barrett
eamon.barrett@fortune.com
