How Sustainable is Patagonia?
Average Sustainability Score
Excellent
Updated:
Jan 22, 2026With its mission statement—“We’re in business to save our home planet”—Patagonia sets a high bar for what it means to be a sustainability-focused outdoor brand. From pioneering the use of low-impact materials to donating company profits to environmental causes, Patagonia leads the industry in sustainability, challenging the notion that business must be at odds with conservation. Based in Ventura, California, the company has driven industry change by phasing out PFAS, designing products with fully recycled materials, and launching Worn Wear, one of the outdoor industry’s first resale and recycling programs. Patagonia continues to push its peers to examine outdoor gear’s long-term impact, setting a model for others to follow. But how sustainable are Patagonia’s practices when you take a closer look?
This sustainability analysis evaluates both product- and brand-level initiatives to capture the full scope of Patagonia’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. Our research draws from Patagonia’s published sustainability data, third-party certifications (a cornerstone of our process), and correspondence with brand representatives. We have independently researched over 40 Patagonia products to date and counting, giving us a broad understanding of the brand’s use of low-impact materials, chemistry, and manufacturing practices.
You can explore our analyses of other outdoor brands, or use our advanced search to find products that align with your sustainability values.
Patagonia earns our top rating (“Excellent”) for transparency surrounding its sustainability initiatives. The brand provides a wealth of publicly available, easy-to-understand articles about its materials, emissions goals, and supply chain, with ample concrete statistics demonstrating its progress. In 2025, the brand published its first comprehensive annual impact report, which provided data and stories about its challenges and successes in reducing its environmental impact. In the report, Patagonia disclosed its baseline emissions and data from the previous two years, showing that it has yet to make progress toward its absolute emissions reduction goals. We appreciate that Patagonia’s product pages include clear material information for each piece of gear, detailing Bluesign-approved materials, recycled content, Fair Trade certification, and more. Brand representatives are highly accessible via live chat when questions arise. All in all, Patagonia’s transparency sets a benchmark for other brands to follow.
Patagonia is leading the outdoor industry’s push to replace virgin materials with recycled alternatives. By fall 2025, it had nearly eliminated virgin polyester and nylon, using 98% recycled polyester and 94% recycled nylon across its products. Although it fell just short of its goal to use 100% recycled polyester and nylon by the end of 2025, we applaud the brand for its strong effort to phase out virgin, fossil-fuel-based materials, and hope to see it achieve its goal in 2026. In 2025, polyester accounted for just over 55% of Patagonia’s total material use, while nylon accounted for just under 15%. Combined, these two materials account for the bulk of Patagonia’s total material weight, and we’re impressed by its progress toward replacing them with low-impact alternatives.
Most recycled polyester (including the polyester Patagonia uses) comes from plastic bottles, which already have a recycling system in place. As a result, when plastic bottles are turned into textiles, they’re diverted from an existing recycling stream. Patagonia is working to incorporate secondary waste, or waste that doesn’t already have a management system in place, into its fabrics. In 2025, the brand reported that 6% of its materials came from secondary waste streams (falling short of its goal to use 50% secondary waste by 2025). It cited difficulties with converting contaminated waste into high-quality materials as the reason for its shortcomings here. Still, Patagonia uses more secondary materials than most outdoor industry brands, and has made efforts to financially support companies developing better recycling methods, like textile-to-textile recycling.
One example of this is Bureo’s NetPlus nylon, made of discarded fishing nets, which Patagonia incorporates into hat brims, its Down Sweater, its Baggies Shorts, and other styles. In 2014, Patagonia invested in Bureo through its Tin Shed Ventures fund to develop the low-impact fabric, which is designed to replace conventional nylon. The brand started using the material in its products in 2020, and by 2025, Patagonia incorporated more than 2,000 metric tons of fishing nets into its gear. In addition to decreasing ocean plastic waste, NetPlus nylon has a nearly 20% lower carbon footprint than conventional nylon. In addition, Patagonia partners with OceanCycle to recycle plastic bottles collected from coastal areas that lack publicly-funded waste management infrastructure into polyester fabrics, reducing ocean pollution while creating a less carbon-intensive material.
To ensure that recycled content claims are traceable and third-party-verified, Patagonia sources recycled fibers from mills certified to the Textile Exchange’s Recycled Claim or Global Recycled standards. The brand aimed to use only certified mills by 2025, and although it was close to achieving its target, we were unable to confirm whether all of its suppliers were certified by the end of the year.
Beyond synthetics, Patagonia has replaced a significant amount of its virgin cotton, down, wool, and cashmere with recycled alternatives. In 2025, almost two-thirds of its down, a quarter of its cotton, and over 80% of its wool were made from recycled content. It also used small amounts of recycled TPU, Spandex, and other materials. In total, Patagonia reported that in 2025, it used 84% preferred materials, which are fibers that have a smaller environmental impact than their conventional alternatives. All in all, Patagonia has made substantial progress in this area, and we’re excited to see it continue to integrate low-impact materials into its products.
Since 2000, Patagonia has worked with Bluesign Technologies, a third-party certification system that ensures textiles and products meet high standards for chemical safety and environmental impact. In 2007, Patagonia became the first brand to join the Bluesign System as a System Partner, underscoring its commitment to safer, lower-impact materials. Today, nine of its top 10 material suppliers are System Partners, and while certification isn’t mandatory, Patagonia strongly encourages suppliers to pursue it. As a result, most of the products we reviewed from Patagonia include Bluesign-approved materials.
In early 2025, Patagonia completed its phase-out of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS. These “forever chemicals” were once common in durable water-repellent (DWR) coatings and waterproof membranes, but were recently banned in states such as California and New York due to their harmful impacts. Patagonia’s transition aligned with this legislation, but the brand began its shift away from PFAS many years earlier. In 2015, the brand began research and development for PFAS-free DWR treatments. It started using its new PFAS-free DWR for some products in 2019, and its first products with PFAS-free waterproof membranes hit the market in 2021. By 2022, 66% of its products were PFAS free, and by 2023, that number hit 98%, with just a few highly technical pieces still containing PFAS. Now, all Patagonia products are PFAS free.
Many Patagonia products feature responsibly sourced natural fibers. We define responsible natural fibers as materials certified to Textile Exchange or Leather Working Group (LWG) standards, certifications that provide benchmarks for humane animal treatment, traceability, and environmental impact. All of Patagonia’s virgin wool and down meet Textile Exchange’s Responsible Wool and Responsible Down standards, while leather is sourced from LWG-certified suppliers. Additionally, all virgin cotton is certified organic, reducing pesticide and fertilizer use compared to conventional cotton. We also appreciate that Patagonia sources a significant amount of recycled wool, down, and cotton, which further reduces the impact of its materials. Patagonia considers all of these certified natural fibers to be “preferred,” or reduced-impact materials, which now make up almost 85% of its total materials.
The brand has also made impressive progress toward using low-impact rubber in its wetsuits. Wetsuit materials, such as petroleum-based neoprene and limestone-based “geoprene,” require high energy input. To reduce the impact of its suits, Patagonia invested in the development of Yulex, a Forest Stewardship Council-certified natural rubber substitute with a significantly lower environmental impact. Patagonia introduced Yulex wetsuits in 2013, went fully neoprene-free in 2016, and now uses Yulex across its entire surf line.
Patagonia has made significant efforts to support the workers who manufacture its apparel through third-party audit and accreditation programs such as the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and Fair Trade USA. The brand is a founding and accredited member of the FLA, established in 1999 to protect workers’ rights globally. In 2014, Patagonia began producing Fair Trade Certified (FTC) products and now offers more Fair Trade Certified apparel than any other brand, totalling over 1,000 styles. For every product made in these factories, Patagonia contributes a premium to the Fair Trade Community Development Fund, which workers use for community projects ranging from medical clinics to day care centers. In 2025, these premiums totaled $5.9 million, and since the beginning of its partnership with Fair Trade USA, the brand has contributed over $37 million to the fund. Impressively, in 2025, Patagonia reported that over 95% of its products were made in FTC factories, benefiting more than 85,000 workers.
Patagonia’s “in-scope” factories, which employ over 65,000 workers, all pay above minimum wage, but just under 40% pay a living wage. However, we appreciate that Patagonia employs Responsible Purchasing Practices, including defining agreed-upon order quantities, payment and terms, and shared responsibility for social and environmental practices at supplier factories. All in all, although Patagonia has room for improvement in some areas, it has made substantially more progress toward responsible manufacturing than other brands we’ve researched.
All Patagonia packaging and shipping materials are made from recycled content or certified responsible forest products, including Forest Stewardship Council- and Sustainable Forestry Initiative-certified paper. Product tags are made from recycled paper with recycled paper strings, while boxes and envelopes are crafted entirely from recycled cardboard and paper. By swapping its information-heavy hang tags for scannable QR codes, Patagonia has reduced its total use of hang tags by over 40 million, avoiding 170,000 pounds of waste as of 2025.
After customer pushback on its use of poly bags, Patagonia tested reducing or eliminating them, but found they were still necessary to protect some products in transit. In 2025, however, the brand reported that it plans to eliminate plastic poly bags from the majority of styles at its Reno distribution center—it has yet to publish an update on its progress. Still, we appreciate that Patagonia uses poly bags made from 100% Global Recycled Standard-certified plastic, and those that are not needed in the final stage of distribution are collected at Patagonia’s warehouse and recycled into plastic decking material. The brand is also working to ensure that all of its packaging is easily recyclable.
Compared to other outdoor industry brands, Patagonia offers standout repair services. It started repairing clothing and equipment in 1976, and in 1998, the brand opened its flagship repair center in Reno, which now employs more than 100 technicians (making it the largest apparel repair center in the U.S.). Patagonia provides comprehensive repair services for most of its products through its Ironclad Guarantee; in 2025, the brand fixed almost 175,000 products worldwide.
Minor repairs are available in stores, while more technical work is handled at its repair centers. Repairs are typically free of charge, though some complex fixes may incur a modest fee. You pay for shipping, and Patagonia typically handles the rest. Notably, Patagonia designs its products with repairability in mind. When developing new products, to earn full points in Patagonia’s Ironclad Quality Index (which assesses the sustainability, quality, and performance of each product), products must be designed to ensure simple repairs.
In partnership with iFixit, Patagonia also offers extensive repair guides online, covering everything from field fixes to rain jacket care. For small holes, customers can request free patch kits for easy, at-home maintenance.
Patagonia’s Worn Wear program makes it easy to buy and sell pre-owned Patagonia clothing and gear. Launched in 2012 with both an online shop and a storefront in Chicago, Worn Wear now offers a wide range of used items backed by the Ironclad Guarantee. Customers can trade in gear for store credit or buy pre-owned pieces through Patagonia’s “Shop Used” feature, which launched in September 2024. In 2025, Patagonia received over 137,000 trade-ins, of which almost 71,000 were from return and warranty claims. In 2025, Worn Wear accounted for approximately 1% of Patagonia’s total annual revenue.
Patagonia also accepts worn-out items for recycling, though many products with blended fabrics are stored in Reno, Europe, and Japan until better recycling methods are developed. In 2005, it launched its Common Threads Garment Recycling Program, which accepted Capilene baselayers for recycling. In 2011, the brand started accepting all of its products for recycling. While Patagonia does not provide compensation for recycled gear, it assures customers that these products will not end up in landfills. Thus far, Patagonia has gotten less than 1% of what it has produced back for recycling, and of that 1%, only 20% of those items can be recycled at present. The brand has partnered with numerous textile-to-textile recycling startups, but many remain small-scale. We’re excited about the future of textile-to-textile recycling, however, and Patagonia is positioned at the forefront of those efforts.
In 2009, Patagonia co-founded Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition), which created the Higg Index, a suite of tools for measuring environmental and social impacts in the apparel industry. Patagonia uses these tools to track its greenhouse gas emissions as part of its Supply Chain Environmental Responsibility Program. The company has set Science Based Targets Initiative-verified goals aligned with Paris Agreement warming thresholds: reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions (from owned facilities and purchased electricity) by 80% and Scope 3 emissions (from materials, supply chains, and transportation) by 55% by 2030, compared to a 2017 baseline. It has also committed to net-zero emissions by 2040, aiming for a 90% absolute reduction, with the remaining 10% offset through carbon credits. This target is 10 years ahead of the SBTi standard and most competitors.
In Patagonia’s 2025 Work in Progress report, it reported on its 2017 baseline emissions and its 2024 and 2025 tracking data. Unfortunately, the brand has yet to make progress toward reducing its emissions in line with its science-based targets. Between 2017 and 2025, Patagonia’s total, absolute emissions have increased by approximately 25%, from 145,848 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to 182,646 tCO2e (equivalent to around 21 million gallons of gasoline). Of this, 99% of its total emissions fall into the Scope 3, or supply chain category. Patagonia is working to reduce these emissions; for example, most of the energy used at textile mills comes from burning fossil fuels to generate steam for textile manufacturing, and Patagonia commissioned a study on the feasibility of electrifying an entire textile mill. We hope to see Patagonia make progress toward its ambitious targets moving forward.
Until 2025, instead of issuing a traditional impact report, Patagonia published its sustainability data on an interactive platform on its website. The platform covers materials, supply chains, emissions tracking, environmental programs, and worker rights programs. In 2025, however, Patagonia published its first Work in Progress report, a comprehensive, annual impact report that builds upon its online resources, providing more context around its many environmental initiatives. In the report, the brand detailed its baseline emissions and two years of recent data. It also broke down its total material usage, charitable donations, and circularity program statistics. Patagonia also releases an annual B Corp Report highlighting key sustainability progress. All in all, Patagonia sets the standard for the level of detail and transparency that we would love to see from other brands in their sustainability reporting.
Patagonia has supported grassroots environmental action since 1973, when it awarded its first grant to protect California’s Ventura River from commercial development. The company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, co-founded 1% For the Planet in 2002, a nonprofit alliance in which members donate 1% of sales to vetted environmental groups. In 2013, Patagonia launched Tin Shed Ventures, a venture capital fund for socially and environmentally responsible startups.
Additionally, Patagonia became a certified B Corp in 2011 and a California Benefit Corporation in 2012. Both designations require companies to include public benefit in their mission and ensure accountability to stakeholders. Patagonia produces an Annual Benefit Report detailing its progress toward these goals and completes B Lab’s biannual impact assessment. Its most recent B Impact score was 166 out of more than 250 possible points—well above the 80-point certification threshold and the median score of 51 for typical businesses.
Most recently, Patagonia established the Home Planet Fund, a nonprofit organization that supports climate action in collaboration with Indigenous and local communities. In a groundbreaking move, Chouinard announced in 2022 that he was giving everything away, transferring Patagonia’s voting stock to a purpose-driven trust and the non-voting stock (constituting 98% of the company) to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit holding company. As a result, profits that aren't reinvested in the company—about $180 million between 2022 and 2025—are donated to organizations working to address climate change and preserve habitats. The Holdfast Collective is designated as a 501(c) (4) charity, allowing for political activism and lobbying. While not every company can follow this model, Patagonia continues to set the industry standard for environmental leadership.
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These products are solid, middle-of-the-pack options for sustainability. In general, they meet at least half of our sustainability criteria for their category.
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The world of sustainability can be murky, but Better Trail is here to help bring clarity. We’ve exhaustively researched thousands of outdoor gear products, communicated with brands, and created a detailed and rigorous ratings system to bring it all together for you. At the pinnacle is Better Trail Certified.
Better Trail Certified products score 4 out of 5 or higher in our sustainability ratings and generally meet around 80% or more of our criteria. While it’s true that no product is 100% sustainable—all take resources to create and arrive at your doorstep—these products are industry leaders and among the most sustainable on the market.
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