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Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

newyorker.com

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Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#51

Post by echelon »

nerdb4itwascool wrote: post #46
_kyran wrote: post #4

Is Patagonia's marketing at heart not Greenwashing ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing ) ? I get that they source materials ethically and do things way better than 90% of other clothing companies. Surely if they truly wanted to minimise their impact on the planet, they would rid their stores of sales and cut back on the amount of new styles/designs that they release. Where I live there are around 3 patagonia…

Chouinard is quoted about this in the article: “But I’ve become cynical about whether we can have any influence,” Chouinard said. “Everyone’s just greenwashing. The revolution isn’t going to happen with corporations. The elephant in the room is growth. Growth is the culprit.”

> “Everyone’s just greenwashing. The revolution isn’t going to happen with corporations. The elephant in the room is growth. Growth is the culprit.”

Unchecked growth is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Kind of an interesting analogy.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#52

Post by airstrike »

vinhboy wrote: post #44
snowcrashover wrote: post #15

Good profile. I feel like the author was having a lot of fun with his thesaurus: "He has a lifelong habit of collecting garrulous friends and yet a tendency to induce some measure of taciturnity in all but the most voluble of them. His style of reticence is contagious."

Every time I read a New Yorker article I feel like that. Here are four words I don't know in just the first paragraph: garrulous, taciturnity, voluble, reticence.

Really? Those words seem perfectly cromulent to me

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#53

Post by mturmon »

johncalvinyoung wrote: post #19
snowcrashover wrote: post #15

Good profile. I feel like the author was having a lot of fun with his thesaurus: "He has a lifelong habit of collecting garrulous friends and yet a tendency to induce some measure of taciturnity in all but the most voluble of them. His style of reticence is contagious."

haha, I guess I'm around a lot of bookish & verbal friends. That sentence didn't strike me as odd in the slightest.

I'd suggest that it's not so much the particular words, it's that all the "oddball" words in the sentence are directly Latin-derived -- garrulous, taciturnity, voluble, reticence. This is what gives the sentence a somewhat forced tone - perhaps a good Anglo-Saxon term might provide a punch.

Probably the stock phrases, "collecting friends", "some measure of X", "all but the most", "style is contagious", don't help either.

The quoted words don't seem that well-crafted, but the content of the observation serves as a good character sketch.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#54

Post by my_username_is_ »

davidw wrote: post #34
50208 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not marketing ... it's a work smart, play hard culture.

I've seen places where it's like that joke where the guy goes to hell and has to pick a room. The one room that seems most appealing has a bunch of people standing around in shit drinking beer and talking. Beats the other really unpleasant rooms where people have to stand on their heads on hard surfaces, so he picks it. He's getting settled in when the devil says "ok, break's over, heads down". What those places have…

I've talked to a few people who work (or worked) at Patagonia recently. They said that LMPGS paints a pretty accurate picture of the company. People are passionate and care about doing a good job, but they also care about enjoying their lives and getting a surf session in when the swell is good.

I would argue that it's necessary to keep a good balance long term. Especially within the outdoor industry, Patagonia isn't going to show up as authentic if their statements about culture are just window dressing. And if people aren't able to pursue their other passions without sacrificing their careers, eventually something will give... And people don't always choose to keep their desk job. So they're either going to lose touch with their consumer and lose their employees... or they're flexible with their hours and let people go surfing. Seems like an easy decision to me.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#55

Post by 50208 »

spodek wrote: post #50
50208 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too was extremely lucky to visit the Ventura headquarters on a random trip to the area several years ago. I was going to get a "surf lesson" from Chipper (who I was half-jokingly told was the highest paid receptionist in the world) but he needed to reschedule. By happenstance, Yvon was there and he was going to hand forge a piton in the old tin shed ... the piton would be auctioned off (for the AAC I believe). Chip…

I hung out with Chipper too, which was delightful. He took me out for a surfing lesson, but there were no waves that day. With my background in ultimate Frisbee and his freestyling, we had a great time tossing the disc instead. As it turns out, I had stood next to Yvon in the cafeteria without realizing it. Chipper told him about me but this was November 2018 and there were huge nearby wildfires. Yvon said he had to…

Same here ... no waves either. But we tried and it was fun.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#56

Post by 50208 »

nerdb4itwascool wrote: post #41
50208 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too was extremely lucky to visit the Ventura headquarters on a random trip to the area several years ago. I was going to get a "surf lesson" from Chipper (who I was half-jokingly told was the highest paid receptionist in the world) but he needed to reschedule. By happenstance, Yvon was there and he was going to hand forge a piton in the old tin shed ... the piton would be auctioned off (for the AAC I believe). Chip…

Great story, thanks for sharing. Chipper Bro is THE MAN, he deserves the pay he gets! I have never been into an HQ as welcoming as Patagonia's. The cafeteria alone is worth a visit!

Haha ... Chipper Bro! Indeed.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#57

Post by ericmay »

50208 wrote: post #32
tony_cannistra wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both "Let My People Go Surfing" [0] and the slightly more CEO-palatable "The Responsible Company" [1] are must-reads for people who run things / buy things. [0]: https://amzn.to/31SyWY0 [1]: https://amzn.to/2Z80ZFS

1) A person should buy these books directly from Patagonia (not Amazon ... in many ways a business diametrically opposed to the Patagonia corporate culture). 2) He as a new book called "Some Stories". Equally good.

As long as you buy used! It looks like Patagonia just sells new versions. Better yet, borrow from a library or friend.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#58

Post by amalow »

zjaffee wrote: post #48

I saw him speak a few years back, and he called for radical ideas, like suggesting the entire concept of a publicly traded company as we know it allows companies to throw their hands in the air in regards to their ethics in regards to the environment. This extends into their repair program, and various other sustainability focused goals. Patagonia is certainly one of the rare examples of what a modern ethical company…

Vote with your wallet, pay for good quality and ethical treatment of manufacturers.

Re: Patagonia's Philosopher King (2016)

#59

Post by HelloFellowDevs »

spodek wrote: post #50
50208 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too was extremely lucky to visit the Ventura headquarters on a random trip to the area several years ago. I was going to get a "surf lesson" from Chipper (who I was half-jokingly told was the highest paid receptionist in the world) but he needed to reschedule. By happenstance, Yvon was there and he was going to hand forge a piton in the old tin shed ... the piton would be auctioned off (for the AAC I believe). Chip…

I hung out with Chipper too, which was delightful. He took me out for a surfing lesson, but there were no waves that day. With my background in ultimate Frisbee and his freestyling, we had a great time tossing the disc instead. As it turns out, I had stood next to Yvon in the cafeteria without realizing it. Chipper told him about me but this was November 2018 and there were huge nearby wildfires. Yvon said he had to…

> Incidentally, I buy clothes almost only from thrift shops, which means no Patagonia.

I don't know if you've heard about this, but Patagonia offers second-hand buying opportunities. This is the site, more or less refurbished Patagonia wornwear.patagonia.com

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