Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Of course, like every other teenage kid, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
And I think when I was 16 years old I took off and drove across the country to Wyoming.
Went into the Wind River Range, and discovered mountains.
I never wanted to be a businessman.
All I wanted to do was do my craft, and climb mountains.
And I had to figure out a way to where I was going to be a businessman, but I was going to do it completely on my own terms.
And everything is designed starting with a functional need.
Our first clothing products were made overly tough.
You know, what do a bunch of blacksmiths know about sewing anyway?
"Dear Patagonia,
It is with mixed emotions that I return these boardies to you after 15 years of outstanding service.
They paddled rivers throughout Canada, Chile, Sri Lanka and the States,
surf trips to Indonesia, India, Australia, Peru, Ecuador, and all over Mexico. It took years before they required any maintenance.
And, well, as you can see, they have a new *** end.
A recycled beach umbrella has done the job well.
Also, the material flap that was hanging off for ages, has now been sewn into the butt end of another pair of non-Patagonia boardies that fell apart.
So they still live on."
There are normally some chores to do around here, they''re not really extensive.
And we try to get most stuff that''s work-oriented done, before it''s hot.
My name's Christo Grayling, I''m originally from Australia, and I''ve been hanging out in Mexico here on and off for about 20 years.
We have a very simple little life here, and we''re a long way from any power lines.
We have 4 pretty small solar panels.
Our water gets trucked in and we have a capacity for 3600 liters, which lasts us 90 people-days.
If we have 90 people here having a *** and a shower in one day, it''ll be done. Makes a whole lot of sense to have as little as you need.
Most mornings I''d say we''re out of here by about 8 or 8:30.
It's not unlikely to get 3 or 4 surfs in.
I got the boardies in a discount store in Ventura.
I don''t remember what I paid for them but I can''t image paying more than 20 or 25 bucks, just knowing a bit about myself.
And I just knew I had something that I wanted to keep on this Earth as long as I could.
I wore them with such great pride.
I just loved them.
So here they are!
This was the original color of the shorts.
And this is the original lining, and it changed color as well.
But now that''s the faded color.
For years, on the *** end, before we replaced it with the beach umbrella,
I used a lot of Shoe Goo, duct tape,
I would often put duct tape on the inside and then put a flap over the top, and then glue the sides around it.
I''m not really great at sewing, so when I sew I just sew the heck out of it.
I sewed the fly shut.
The string eventually began to fall apart, so I tied them up permanently and sewed them permanently so the only way to get them on is to not be too fat.
I don''t throw stuff away.
I really thought Patagonia deserved to have them back.
But these board shorts had a life, so it was really hard to let them go!
When I think about how many "user-days", it's well in excess of 1200 user-days. So I think it's probably cost me about a cent per use.
A penny a use - I''m OK spending that kind of money.
My name is Kristin Gates, I''m 25 years old.
I grew up in New England and I now live in Alaska.
And I''m a long-distance hiker.
The long distance trails that I''ve hiked are the Long Trail, which is 275 miles;
the Apallachian Trail which is 2,175 miles;
the Pacific Crest Trail which is 2,600 miles;
the Continental Divide Trail which is 2,800 miles;
and the Arizona Trail which is 800 miles.
I just finished up the Grand Enchantment Trail which is 730 miles.
And I hiked that in preparation for a hike that I''ll be doing this summer across the Brooks Range in Alaska, which will be about 1,200 miles.
I''ve hiked about 10,000 miles on the long distance trails.
It can be hard, it can be lonely, but it''s always a great adventure and I come back with great stories.
And I think spending time alone out there really helps me appreciate the friends and family I have back at home.
Along these hikes I try to carry the lightest load possible. It''s a lot nicer to hike with 25 pounds on your pack, as opposed to 50.
It''s very important that my gear protect me from the elements, I depend on it for survival.
So it's important that it doesn't fall apart out in the field.
This hat has been in my family for about 11 years.
I''ve been wearing it since 2007, when I went out to hike the Appalachian Trail.
And the hat has come with me on every single long-distance hike that I''ve done.
The longer I keep a piece of gear, the more stories it accumulates and the more memories.
I definitely do notice when other people are wearing Patagonia gear,
and when I see that it's older and beat-up, I think, ""Oh, there's a kindred spirit!""
I''ve crossed North America a bunch of times.
South America, Bolivia, bicycled from the Andes above La Paz, down to the upper Amazon.
It''s been to Ireland, Australia, Hawaii,-- we''ve cycled the Big Island 3 or 4 times.
My name''s Jim Brady, I''m a teacher and I take kids on trips.
And I''ve had this jacket for 15 years.
I could have gotten rid of this a long time ago.
But it tells a story every time I put it on, and shake the sand out of it maybe, or dry it off if I''ve been in the rain.
It tells me a story. And I can look at it and remember.
And I get to tell other people stories off that too.
The blue paint: we painted a bench, and it''s out in the garden now.
The old tape here, the upholstery tape: got a little snagged in some barbed wire.
I think this one is when I went over the handlebars to celebrate my 60th birthday, two years ago, but I had a good crash.
Having stuff with legitimate wear and tear, I think that reflects what I'm trying to do. I don''t need to buy something new.
As an educator, when I work with my students, we talk a lot about resources.
And I can talk all day, but I think I just try to teach by example.
Clothing, believe it or not, reflects that.
All clothes are a statement.
When I wear this, part of the message is, "man, you can keep this stuff for a long time."
It''s made well, lasts a long time with good working conditions. If that''s where sustainability is going, that''s good.
We can''t be a society that''s based on consuming and discarding endlessly.
What we''re trying to do is make clothes that can be handed down, that''ll last forever.
So, we''re just finishing up the sap season in New Hampshire, we probably did the last boil last night.
Two nights ago, my husband went out and collected the sap.
Then we drive it down to the sap house that''s right here on the property, and boil it down.
It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.
I think everybody really likes it when the sap is just coming out of the finishing tank. The boil that we just completed was really dark and flavorful, and it''s fun for them to taste it and see the differences.
My name''s Lissa Chapin, I live in Contoocook, New Hampshire with my 4 kids. Will is almost 8, Merrick 6, Leah is 4, Sam''s 2.
So we''ve got this neat pair of old blue Patagonia bibs that are baby size.
We got them in a box of hand-me-downs and just immediately loved them.
The bibs have been through all of my kids.
They started with my nephew, and then they went to two or three other kids out in the Pacific Northwest,
and came to me in a hand-me-down box.
And then they went through Will, and Merrick, and then Leah wore them, Sam wore them.
It''s just sweet to see how different the kids are when they wear the same piece of clothes.
Our kids are pretty rough on their clothes.
This stuff holds up really well.
Once I buy a jacket for him, I hope and expect that it works for him and for her, and for that guy too.
And it''s sort of fun to think about who might end up using and appreciating that little bib that''s been through so many kids.
The most responsible thing you can do with buying clothes is, number one, buy used clothes.
The damage has been done in making them, that''s the most responsible thing.
There''s all kinds of thing all throughout the farm. I have strawberries over there, an acre of cover crop
Celery, some romaine lettuce, some escarole, some Bok Choy, turnips, spinach, fennel, carrots, celery, kale, kale, kale, chard, gold beets, sunflowers, snapdragons and more chard, flowering cilantro
And so that gives you all this diversity.
I''m Steve Sprinkel, I live in Ojai, California, and I''m a certified organic farmer.
My wife Olivia Chase and I own The Farmer And The Cook, which is an all-organic vegetarian restaurant, café and bakery.
You know, I was a back-to-the-land, college dropout, typical hippie wanderer.
And then the organic farming movement, it was something that I really gravitated to.
At the time, too, back in the late '60s early '70s it was something that you could do to keep your hands free of a big compromised, commercial world.
It''s more than a hobby, it''s kind of a religion.
In terms of my clothing, like work wear for here, I just beat things to death.
I picked this jacket up, and it just felt good.
It had really, you know, good heft.
I bought it, and I started wearing it, and it''s my favorite thing.
That jacket almost looks like the day I got it at the yard sale.
What would you rather buy:
a brand-new fleece jacket,
or one that was worn by your father while he was hitch-hiking through Nepal and had all these great stories in there?
Which is more valuable?
I can tell you right now which is most for me.
As a young man I wanted to be an artist, and I was studying that as a kid.
But I always wanted to be a National Geographic photographer, it''s like the fantasy that we all have.
I''m Michael Nichols, everyone calls me Nick.
I''m a photographer at National Geographic, 35 years.
Mostly in Africa with rainforests and elephants, and big creatures like that.
What got me to my calling was mountain gorillas.
I saw where photography could be something more than just entertainment.
And since then, that became a mission.
It gave me something to live for, and I just ran, ran, ran, ran.
I just think photography can have a really powerful voice.
So you start being a voice, not just for the creatures or the things, but the people who are trying to actually do the work.
I''m starting to really get enamored with this concept of the low footprint.
It can''t be driven home harder than when you travel like I do, and you see humans are so short-sighted.
We think of everything, what can we do in these years that I''m here?"
And then I photograph a tree that lives 3,000 years and I'm like, ""Wait a minute!""
So if you start thinking that everything you purchase needs to live a full life and then come back in a circle, that''s a completely different attitude than we grow up with.
I did a whole lot of traveling with this.
I went all over the world -- I did the mountain gorillas in this.
My son''s been in school, and he arrived today.
We miss him a lot.
One of the things he loves to do is take my stuff, like this, and start wearing it.
We dug this out of the storage today and I think it''s about 25 years old.
We''re going to try to verify where it's been, but it''s your graduation present.
Hell yeah.
One of the old reversibles.
When you have children, everything that's yours is theirs.
But nothing that's theirs is yours.
He built our house right before I was born.
My dad loves skiing the backcountry and looking for moose antlers.
Most people, if they're lucky, will come across one or two moose antlers in their lifetime.
Somehow my dad''s found around 200.
Backcountry skiing is unusual in the fact that there are no rules.
You set your own limits, everything''s wide open.
You hike for your turns.
So you end up appreciating the downhill a lot more than if you ride the lift, I think.
I''m Jay Ross, and I live in Stowe, Vermont.
And I''m Lauren Ross, Jay''s daughter.
Living in Vermont, you either take advantage of the weather or you suffer.
So, we''re skiers.
We enjoy it and we''ve been skiing every day that we can in the last 30 years.
This is 1983, Lauren and I skiing.
I think I started skiing at age 2, so I was skiing on my dad''s shoulders at 1.
It''s important in Vermont to have good cold-weather gear, stuff that holds up and keeps you warm.
I think this was the original Expedition Weight long underwear.
I''ve had those fleece pants for over 30 years, and they''ve seen some pretty harsh temperatures, survived a few ice fishing trips, and held up for quite a while.
My dad wore those pants building houses, and ice fishing, and skiing, picking me up at school.
I know a lot of guys with old Patagonia stuff that have definitely seen the test of time.
I think it's mostly because they''re just cheap and they don''t buy anything new. But it lasts.
Lauren started skiing right here in the backyard.
She turned into a pretty good skier.
The number one part of our mission statement is to make the best quality product, not among the best, but the very best.
When I was growing up, I was always reading about climbing, I just thought that these guys were like heroes, you know, they just did these superhuman things.
I kept gravitating towards the mountains.
And the more I got into it, the more I was fulfilled.
It seemed like one of those things where the more I gave, the more I got.
And, it just became this path, it became my whole life.
My name is Steve House, I''m a Patagonia climbing ambassador,
which means I get to go climbing quite a bit and in the process I get to test and develop new clothing and equipment.
You can''t always baby your stuff, I mean this stuff gets torn up and nicked.
If you''re suddenly in a chimney and it's desperate,
of course you''re going to shove your shoulder back in there and get your elbow,
you''re just going to do everything you can to get up there, because you don''t want to fall!
Most of my climbing happens up in the Himalaya, and Karakoram Ranges, Alaska Range, Canadian Rockies in winter.
Pretty extreme environments, you know, cold, snow, wet.
For me, clothing is a really important part of my equipment.
In a lot of ways, it''s absolutely necessary in order to exist in the environment.
I think my very first Patagonia piece was a Capilene zip turtleneck.
I still have it, and it's just holes from the bottom of the shoulder to the wrist, and the whole cuff is just completely frayed.
That was my baselayer, it was the only one I had for a long time.
And so for me, it''s linked to these places I went and did all my first mountaineering trips, my first winter climbing, my first expeditions.
To get rid of it would be like throwing away a journal.
You know, one of my favorite quotes is from Henry David Thoreau: ""Beware of any endeavor that requires new clothes.""
Why do I hang on to my stuff for so long?
Because it just works.
They''re pretty awesome clothes, and they hold up well, and stand the test of time.
You know, I put it on and I have those memories coming back.
For me it's something I''ll always keep.
Comfortable, familiar.
It seems like it's going to last another 10 or 15 years.
What I really want is something that''s going to last.
15 years of outstanding service.
13 years.
15 years.
11 years.
And counting.
This could be up to 30 years.
33 years and still going strong.