2. Related Literature

2.3. Sustainable Practices at Patagonia

Patagonia is an outdoor sportswear brand that has been greatly examined in the extant literature. Patagonia was founded by Yvon Choujnard in California in 1973. Patagonia predominantly sells and showcases sustainable outdoor clothes for climbers, skiers, and other people engaging in outdoor activities. Patagonia's mission statement is "build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis". Patagonia admitted that its apparel production process may incur pollution. To reduce the negative impact, Patagonia launched "1% for the Planet", "Footprint Chronicles", and "Worn Wear" initiatives. The "1% for the Planet" initiative contributes 1% of total annual sales to environmental organizations, "Footprint Chronicles" seeks to reduce adverse social and environmental impacts in the supply chain, and "Worn Wear" sells high-quality products that will last for years and be repaired easily. The extant literature has greatly examined Patagonia's sustainable practices; however, no previous study has investigated its eco-design practices. In this paper, we focused on examining its eco-design practices and identifying the impact of eco-design on its product lines.

Product line development follows company mission statements at Patagonia. With rigorous attention to quality, Patagonia integrates the principles of industrial design into all aspects of clothing production. Alongside quality, environmental concerns play an important role in eco-material selection and the manufacturing process. Patagonia promotes sustainable manufacturing in several aspects, such as symbolic eco-labels, non-chemical print technology, transparent supply chains, and detachable designs.

The literature has shown that eco-labels enable consumers to receive product sustainability information and educate consumers' sustainability awareness. Patagonia uses eco-labels such as Blue-sign and Fair Trade-certified in its product line development. Eco-labels convey sustainability information to consumers and illustrate the company's efforts on sustainable product development. Patagonia designers obey the requirements of eco-labels in product line development. For example, when the Blue-sign label is attached to new products, designers design the product with consideration of consumer safety, water emissions, occupational health, and safety; when Fair Trade-certified is attached, designers may use recycled accessories, such as zips, buttons, and waistbands, and attach the recycled heritage label to convey the sustainable consciousness. In this paper, we focused on examining the case of Patagonia, whose eco-design is well-known and representative in the fashion company.