From the Sheep's Back to Yours

After some bad press in recent years, Patagonia is striving to eliminate unethical practices from its supply chain, maintaining the appeal of its beloved products among conscious consumers.

Based on its founding commitments to “build the best product” and “cause no unnecessary harm,” Patagonia has grown its high-end outdoor clothing brand into a paragon of retail excellence and corporate social responsibility. Known for its open advocation of ethical supply chain practices, the company recently made headlines after placing its own suppliers under intense public scrutiny -- unfortunately, not all news is good news.

The published findings of Patagonia’s internal audits (and independent whistleblowers) show that even the most well-meaning companies can become unwittingly embroiled in unethical practices. But to its credit, the retailer has since made strides towards aggressive transparency along every step of its supply chain.

A Supply Chain Deep Dive

Patagonia has been subject to multiple withering revelations about its supply chain practices in recent years -- the majority stemming from its own internal inquiries. In 2010, the German animal rights group Four Paws unearthed evidence that Patagonia had been sourcing goose down from a supplier that force-fed birds for foie gras production -- a claim that Patagonia investigated and corroborated.

Then, one year later, an internal audit revealed that roughly a quarter of Patagonia’s Taiwan-based second-tier factories (which make fabrics, but not finished products) were found to have played host to instances of labor trafficking, exploitation, or illicit labor brokerage schemes -- in which independent labor brokers recruit migrant workers from surrounding countries, only to charge them exorbitant job placement fees once they arrive. While the practice itself is legal, these brokers were charging illegally high fees, leaving workers indebted (and stranded) for years.

On top of this, last year PETA released footage of the cruel treatment of sheep at Patagonia’s primary merino wool supplier, South America-based Ovis 21. Patagonia immediately severed ties with the company, completely halting production on the just-released, highly popular product line.