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304    Cha pte r  Six t ee n

                   In 2005 Patagonia launched its Common Threads Garment Re -
               cycling Program: Customers return their worn-out Capilene  Perfor-
                                                                  ®
               mance Baselayer to headquarters, Distribution Center, or retail stores,
                                                           ®
               and Patagonia will recycle the old into new Capilene  garments. Pata-
               gonia has now expanded this program to include cotton T-shirts,
                                         ®
               Patagonia fleece, and Polartec -branded fleece from any other man-
               ufacturer. Over the last 3 years Patagonia has made progress in
               increasing the number of styles that can be recycled in the Common
               Threads program. The percentage of recyclable products in Fall
               2008 was 45% and by Fall 2009 it will rise to 65%. The Spring lines
               have a lower percentage but are still increasing. In addition, the com-
               pany is exploring alternative approaches, including repurposing old
               garments by cutting and sewing them into new ones, and “down-
               cycling” garments into filling material or padding.
                   Not content with compromise, Patagonia will continue to press
               on in pursuit of environmental solutions, far from the mainstream,
               like a solitary climber. As founder Chouinard puts it [9]
                    Our current landscape is filled with complacency, be it in the
                    corporate world or on the environmental front. Only on the
                    fringes of an ecosystem, those outer rings, do evolution and
                    adaptation occur at a furious pace; the inner center of the sys-
                    tem is where the entrenched, nonadapting species die off,
                    doomed to failure by maintaining the status quo. Businesses
                    go through the same cycles  …  only those businesses operating
                    with a sense of urgency, dancing on the fringe, constantly
                    evolving, open to diversity and new ways of doing things, are
                    going to be here one hundred years from now.


          References
                 1. Information about Kimberly-Clark’s sustainability programs is available at
                  www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/sustainability.aspx.
                 2. European Disposables and Nonwovens Association, Sustainability Report:
                  Absorbent Hygiene Products, 2007–2008.
                 3. C. Holliday and J. Pepper, Sustainability Through the Market—Seven Keys
                  to Success (Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development
                  (WBCSD) Report, April 2001).
                 4. Information about Procter & Gamble’s sustainability programs is available at
                  www.pg.com/company/our_commitment/sustainability.shtml.
                 5. G. Carpenter and P. White. “Sustainable Development: Finding the Real
                  Business Case,”  Corporate Environmental Strategy: International Journal for
                  Sustainable Business, Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2004.
                 6. S. Aumonier and M. Collins, “Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Re -
                  usable Nappies in the UK” (Bristol, UK: Environment Agency, 2005).
                 7. Information about Mohawk’s DFE efforts is available at www.mohawkgreen-
                  works.com/.
                 8. Information about Patagonia’s environmental commitment is available at
                  www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=23429.
                9. Y. Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
                  (New York: Penguin Press, 2005).
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