Case: 'Turning it Green' with Patagonia: A Sustainable Branding Strategy (IIMR-C27-08/2024)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Being founded in 1965, the company Patagonia Works (Patagonia) had been launching various products (Refer to Exhibit I for product mix of Patagonia and Exhibit II Patagonia’s timeline) and branding campaigns on sustainability till 2022 (Refer to Exhibit III for Patagonia’s branding strategy).i . Over the period, the company grew significantly and acquired a market value of over US$ 1 billion by 2018 and became well-known as one of the prominent producers of outdoor clothing (Referral candy, 2018, February 11). It also won numerous awards including Sustainability Environmental Achievement Award, 2018, Leadership Award for Organizational Impact,2018 and UN Champions of the Earth Award,2019 (Business insider, 2019, October 12). While achieving significant growth, Patagonia had been facing various challenges including heavy competition from companies like North Face, Arc’teryx, Columbia Sportswear (Refer Exhibit IV for competitors of Patagonia). After going through various ups and downs, in November 2022, the company became the winner of ISPO Cup for its contribution towards society. But the prevailing US clothing industry scenario raised doubts among customers regarding the product quality of clothing as Patagonia kept on changing the chemical composition of its products from 2013 to 2021.ii This toxic chemical issue questioned on the sustainability of Patagonia brand. Now the question could be raised, How Patagonia will justify their high pricing for a toxic product? How far its branding strategy would be helpful for the company to maintain itself as a sustainable brand, beyond these toxic chemical issues?