Patagonia's Common Threads Initiative Encourages Responsible Shopping (VIDEO)

Are you buying anything on Cyber Monday? Patagonia asks that you think twice before making a purchase ... even from their own store.

Patagonia's campaign is the exact opposite of what one might expect from a clothing and outdoor gear manufacturer, but the Southern California-based company is taking on what they see as rampant consumerism with their Common Threads Initiative.

Patagonia wrote on their website, "Cyber Monday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We’re now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet."

In the video below, the company stresses that you should consider what you "deeply need" and not just buy what you "vaguely want."

Economically, Black Friday and the holiday shopping season may be a boon, but the unsustainable consumerism Patagonia wants to stop was arguably visible in shoppers' behavior this weekend.

Violence erupted at stores across the country as shoppers fought over limited quantities of sale items. A 61-year-old shopper in West Virginia collapsed in a Target store and later died. He was allegedly ignored and stepped over by his fellow deal hunters.

The stress on our planet isn't just felt with over-production and waste with consumer goods. A report released this week by the United Nations found that a quarter of the world's land is already "highly degraded." The report also found that the world's farmers will have to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed the world's expanding population.

WATCH:

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Comments

[faith]

11:21 PM on 11/29/2011

Our entire family abides by the concept. The early native americans said it best: walk softly on the earth. We can also learn from the europeans- they tend to engage in meaningful dialogue and intelligent conversation vs. shop till you drop.

[nomoresoundbytes]

02:24 PM on 11/29/2011

About time! We aren't guaranteed contentment or comfort in the constitution or anywhere.

[ChrisInYao]

12:10 PM on 11/29/2011

I would argue that the root of the problem of consuming as much as a planet one-and-a-half times the size is the belief of `there`s not enough`. Author Neale Donald Walsch mentioned this in one of his books. There`s an underlying attitude in what brings us contentment is having stuff. It`s a feeling of deficiency, a mental phenomenon. The belief of I don`t have enough` is making a Wall-e world. Buying stuff in an obligatory way, too, seems silly but we do it. Pleasing others with gifts is also a stress reliever, but not the best but not the best means of stress relief. I think Patagonia is on the right track, and it`s not like companies to say do not buy our products unless you absolutely know it`s for a good cause.

[interlude]

12:48 PM on 11/29/2011

There are several factors driving consumption. One of course is conspicuous consumption. Another is that safe feeling that comes from having stuff when there were times there was no stuff. One only needs to look at survivors of the 1930s Depression for examples. Another is that people get so wrapped up in finding a "good deal" they don't realize they're overbuying. Some spend a lot of money going to school learning how to trick people into doing precisely this. They're eventually labeled as genius marketeers and worshiped for their mad skills.

[mzrecycle]

05:33 PM on 01/25/2012

My dad was a young adult during the Depression. Went from midwest to California, hoping to find work. He found none, managed to get back home by riding on the back of a truck carrying cantaloup. His way for the rest of his life was to buy very little, save, save, save.
My husband's dad also grew up in the Depression. His dad left the family. There was frequently not much food. His way for his life was buy a lot, especially food. He felt better with an extra pantry full of canned goods.

[aphextwin07]

10:53 AM on 11/29/2011

this is like 4 or 5 months old now...

/next

[intolleft]

10:10 AM on 11/29/2011

Patagonia? Over priced, foreign made crap. I get my outerwear at Filson.

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

09:46 AM on 11/29/2011

the disaster that was Black Friday has consequences on all of us. The race to the bottom was really apparent in the ad campaigns to get these riled up consumers at the door to push, shove and trample to death other people for an $8 waffle maker.

[intolleft]

10:08 AM on 11/29/2011

It was a $2 waffle iron and its training for what it's going to be like in the bread line if the government don't reign in its spending.

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

10:23 AM on 11/29/2011

worse....and worst

[Artos]

10:37 AM on 11/29/2011

Try rein, Mr. Right Wing intellectual, not.

[paddlerchick]

08:37 AM on 11/29/2011

OK, so why isn't this on the home page instead of a gazillion articles about all the BF crap--junk sales, violence, and wall st jumping up on blatant consumerism. This is the coolest thing I've seen a retail company do in a long time. It should be a major headline.

[colin72]

08:22 AM on 11/29/2011

"Patagonia: Don't Buy Our Jackets"

Done.

[nomoresoundbytes]

02:26 PM on 11/29/2011

Yeah, kinda missed the point here....

[empress trudy]

08:09 AM on 11/29/2011

My shoes are tofu gay friendly, slave free and have a negative carbon footprint. They also cost $115,000

[Suntio]

12:02 PM on 11/29/2011

Get real.

[Sanity Always Prevails]

04:54 AM on 11/29/2011

Patagonia makes "outdoor" gear? HA! For Southern Cal, maybe. Anywhere else, bring your winter clothes!

[Ebanius]

10:38 AM on 11/29/2011

They have make great quality winter clothing that have lasted me for several years now. Their clothes and winter gears are expensive but worth the money.

[lillahhassan]

04:36 AM on 11/29/2011

I was a huge fan until I found out they give work to a sewing factory in one of the illegal settlements in northern Palestine.Obviously ,no Palestinian women need apply for work there.
So now....not so much.

[empress trudy]

08:08 AM on 11/29/2011

Actually they do.

[lillahhassan]

08:46 AM on 12/02/2011

Link please.Prove me wrong.

[interlude]

02:54 AM on 11/29/2011

Consumerism is just a symptom. The root problem is overpopulation. We're using up the Earth's resources exponentially and will have to find another planet soon (fundies are hyperventilating) to rape and pillage.

[Cinquopated]

09:10 AM on 11/29/2011

But there isn't another planet (calling Star Trek), so we just have to get smarter and stronger.

[interlude]

12:29 PM on 11/29/2011

That we know of. It has been hypothisized that there are 100k in the universe though.

[nomoresoundbytes]

02:28 PM on 11/29/2011

fat chance

[Artos]

10:38 AM on 11/29/2011

It's far too late.

[interlude]

12:33 PM on 11/29/2011

Sure hope not. Although some have come to the conclusion that this species of users should be allowed to die out in hopes of another more responsible species surfacing.

[Anne Mccormick]

10:12 PM on 11/28/2011

first Black Friday; now cyber Monday. what could be better? my shopping for myself and Xmas presents is now complete.

[demisfine]

09:57 PM on 11/28/2011

Reduce, reuse, recycle.
We have three college students, and have always taught them to make sure we get them what they NEED, not a passing fancy. We buy quality, and we pass it on to others when we have outgrown things.
If what you have purchased is good quality, it lasts long enough to pass along, and the people to whom you pass it will appreciate it.
We have a few Patagonia items. They weren't cheap, but they were worth the cost.

[R500]

03:10 AM on 11/29/2011

Purchasing quality is very much underrated. Every single time I have spent more money for a product or service because I favored quality, it has turned out to be amazingly frugal. A few examples: my Gortex Italian hiking boots: had them for 14 years now, and I USE THEM ALL THE TIME. (Spent $300 at the time, which seemed ridiculous, but my mountaineering friend told me he would buy them if they didn't last more than five) Example 2: My wool winter suit: I have gone through five suits that cost me $100, and I still wear my quality Burberry winter suit which I paid $500 bucks for. Example 3: My pants: because of my build and the nature of getting into my jeep, I used to split low riding pants all the time. Started buying high quality pants, and have saved myself hundreds. QUALITY MATTERS!!

[Cinquopated]

09:13 AM on 11/29/2011

Right, but this was years ago. Try dropping that kind of cash today and you'll just pay the price and it STILL won't last. Maybe a little more than the cheap stuff, but I've had expensive shoes that I bought with the same idea, and they lasted a year and only a year.

[Merckx]

10:09 AM on 11/29/2011

I'm a fan of buying the right stuff the first time too. It almost always works out in my favor.

[merryterry]

09:53 PM on 11/28/2011

I am amazed by this company. Their products are good. I will support them whenever I NEED something.