Patagonia’s brand storytelling centers on its mission, “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Its award-winning campaigns blend environmental activism, radical transparency, and customer empowerment. Rather than promoting pure consumerism, it champions product longevity, repair, and environmental defense. This is our Brand Masters of Storytelling #4.

Brands are catching on to how people look for brands that reflect who we are, where we’ve been, and what we care about, particularly when it comes to environmental responsibility. From Nature Valley granola bars to Seventh Generation cleaning products, corporations are leaning into our generation’s collective call for corporate sustainability through both meaningful action and authentic brand storytelling.

“Turn everything off, at least until we know more” – It’s a sentence you never expect to hear from a Marketing Manager while partway through several large campaigns at the start of the new season; but this was no ordinary year. This was 2020.

Patagonia is a poster child for authentic environmental stewardship and brand storytelling. Sustainability is central to their purpose, promise, and product. Their purpose statement, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” encapsulates their commitment to sustainability and sound business.

In March 2020, when COVID-19 took hold of the world, the ‘Dirksen Derby’ splitboard race was just about to take place, the ‘Running up for Air’ fell race was planned for the weeks after, and Torrentshell, a large eCommerce push, was all scheduled and ready to start firing any day now. But as with most things at that time, the only option was to hit ‘pause’ and wait.

Patagonia does not want you to buy excess products – they’d rather customers reuse, resell, and share. By accepting trade-ins through “Worn Wear,” repairing used products in their stores, and ultimately extending the life of the products they sell, they send a powerful message about their commitment to sustainability. The classic “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign articulated this message succinctly.

During the COVID period, Patagonia decided that because its audiences would not be able to attend in-person events for an extended period, it would recreate these events online, providing much-needed inspiration and ‘stoke’ in the process. The first film in the Stories That Inspire series was Life of Pie – a story of pizza and mountain biking in Utah.

In 2022, founder Yvon Chouinard transferred ownership of the billion-dollar company to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective, ensuring that all profits not reinvested in the company are used to fight the environmental crisis.

Brand Masters of Storytelling 4, written by Tor Kjolberg.
Other Brand Masters of Storytelling articles in this series:
Brand Masters of Storytelling
Brand Masters of Storytelling 2
Brand Masters of Storytelling 3