Selling outdoor equipment and clothing, Patagonia rivals other brands such as The North Face and REI. The main factor that sets Patagonia apart from the rest of the brands is it’s highly ethical business model. The company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard (“mountain climber turned business man”), believes in a high level of standard when it comes to producing all-natural clothing and equipment.
One of the most significant parts of their business model is tied to how they collect feathers used for their down products. As opposed to other companies, Patagonia is the only clothing manufacturer that refuses to use the plucked feathers of live birds. Instead, all of their down comes from birds that lived in unrestricted environments, and were plucked following their slaughter.
This is an extra inconvenience to the company, and is a tedious process that rivaling companies don’t dare to bother with. To me, this is what makes Patagonia such a unique brand. As a consumer, I can tell that their business is run by an ethically sound board of members. I think that when it comes to ethical dilemmas like this, Patagonia leads by example by supporting a just cause that might not necessarily give turn the most profit.
-Timmy