Triple Bottom Line Weight In a broader context, social, environmental, and economic demands are considered the three pillars of sustainability. Within the corporate world, they are sometimes referred to as the triple bottom line: Planet, People, Profits. (Wigmore, 2013) There are many benefits that a triple bottom line approach can provide to an organization when these three main characteristics form part of the company. Patagonia, Inc. is an American clothing company that sells outdoor clothing marketed as sustainable. The company was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, and is based in Ventura, California. Patagonia does not use any chemicals in their production processes and often use recycled, organic, or environmentally sounds materials. Patagonia is also a vocal advocate for environmental initiatives. (Hendricks, 2016) This company’s mission statement reflects the focus of Yvon and his wife Malinda for the environment: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Patagonia’s goal is to produce the best clothing it can while not harming the Planet starting with used materials. • …show more content…
• In 1994, they realized 25% of all toxic pesticides in farming was used in the growing of cotton. The company committed to switch to only using organic cotton in their garments by 1996. They did this even though organic cotton cost 50% to 100% more and made their clothing more expensive. • In 2015, they found a South American wool supplier was not treating their sheep humanely; Patagonia stopped doing business with them. In November of 2016, Patagonia decided to give 100% of its global retail and online Black Friday sales to nonprofits working on environmental issues. They projected $2 million in sales that day. Sales totaled $10 million. (Business Growth Consultants,