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Consumer Pr oducts Industries      303

                    • Is it a global design, yet sensitive to local requirements?
                    • Is it convenient to care for and clean or maintain?
                    • Does it have any added value, a tangible benefit to the
                      customer?
                    • Is it authentic, i.e., rooted in the real world?
                    • Is it art, reflecting timeless aesthetics rather than current
                      trends?
                    • Are we just chasing fashion, driven by market cycles?
                    • Are we designing for our core customer?
                    • Have we done our homework, including research and
                      testing?
                    • Is it timely, considering the state of the market and
                       competition?
                    • Does it cause any unnecessary harm, environmental or
                      otherwise?
                   The last element summarizes Patagonia’s DFE commitment and
               has led it to adopt innovations such as organic cotton, recyclable
                polyesters (see Figure 16.4), and Synchilla fabric from soda bottles.
               However, the sustainability journey has hit a few potholes along the
               way, and Patagonia is candid in documenting its successes and fail-
               ures in the “Footprint Chronicles.” For example, the company once
               tried to replace plastic buttons with rainforest tagua nut buttons, sup-
               ported by an indigenous industry, but the nuts could not survive
               washers and dryers. Another example is a persistent, bioaccumulative
               chemical, perfluoro-octanoic acid (PFOA), which is a common con-
               stituent of water-repellent membranes and coatings. Patagonia is try-
               ing to remove PFOA from its lines without sacrificing performance. It
               has replaced the membranes with polyester and polyurethane materi-
               als but has not yet found a viable alternative to the existing coatings.


               FIGURE 16.4  Patagonia’s Eco Rain
               Shell jacket, made from 100%
               recycled polyester.
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