WFS 345 – Patagonia the Company with Ted Manning – Conservation, Home Planet, Yvon Chouinard

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/345

Presented By: Stonefly Nets, Dette Flies

Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors

Ted Manning is here to walk us behind the scenes of Patagonia –  the company that’s in business to save our home planet.

Patagonia, as we all know, is one of the biggest outdoor brands. But they’re more than just a brand. They’re the most responsible company in the world, leading the way in conservation.

Ted tells us a brief history of Patagonia – how Yvon Chouinard started a nontraditional company and how it’s going. We dig in detail into some of the projects they’re running right now – gear repair facility, Action Works tool, awareness films, and more.

Find out why they changed their company mission and why they want to actually slow down their growth.

Show Notes with Ted Manning and Patagonia the Company

05:40 – The business unit that Ted represents is called, Rivers. They make the equipment, accessories, and all the fly fishing gear for Patagonia. Their commitment is to the communities that advocate and recreate rivers.

08:10 – They have a tool called, Action Works where you can go online and see the organizations that they’re partnering with. You can also check if there are any projects nearby your area that you can take part in.

09:40 – We talk about Yvon Chouinard and his classic quote, “the more you know, the less you need”

10:50 – Ted tells us how they’re running a responsible business in a nontraditional way

13:30 – Patagonia’s mission now is “we’re in business to save our home planet”

18:30 – We talk about the time when people didn’t believe that producing pure organic cotton was possible

21:30 – They run a repair facility to minimize the impact of product creation

23:45 – We dig into the book Yvon wrote, Let My People Go Surfing – Ted tells the story of how Yvon started Patagonia

28:15 – Ted talks about why they’re slowing down their growth

31:15 – There was a book written in the early 70s by an economic theorist named, EF Schumacher called, Small is Beautiful – a great resource to learn more about growth in a finite resource

38:55 – Patagonia just released a film called Tribal Waters in collaboration with Teton Gravity and Indifly – scroll below to watch that film

40:00 – Riverhorse Nakadate was on the podcast in episode 266 where we talked about the Boundary Waters

40:15 – Ted mentions a list of projects that they’re focusing on today

46:50 – The Monster in Our Closet is another film that they released is a short look at what it cost when you buy a piece of apparel – the story behind the product and the reality of the impact that the global apparel business has including Patagonia – scroll down to watch that film

48:55 – Ted gives us a piece of advice on what we can do with the podcast to help with conservation work

50:28 – Ted makes an emphasis on repairing your gear and don’t buy new stuff so much

53:30 – Patagonia has partnered with Bureo – they recycle old fishing nets and turn them into apparel

54:20 – They launched a new wading boot in Europe – built with Fitwell

Conclusion with Ted and Patagonia the Company

So there you go. Pretty powerful stuff today.

I hope this episode inspired you to take some action today. That tool Action Works really works, you know. Just scan for nearby projects to find out how you can connect and contribute. Every little action combined makes a big difference and helps us achieve our goal to save the home planet. Do it for your children and your children’s children, so that they may have a better world to live in when you’re long gone.

And remember.. don’t buy new gear! Have them repaired instead (if still possible). 

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/345