Benefiting Workers / Influencing Change
Gear
How do you change an industry? One sweater at a time.
Everyone deserves the right to work under safe conditions and earn a living wage. Patagonia’s Fair Trade Certified programme allows them to pay a premium to workers who vote on how the money is used – from on-site childcare to cash payouts.
In autumn 2017, Patagonia will expand their Fair Trade Certified product offering to more than 300 styles (27 per cent of the entire product line), including the newly certified Better Sweater® Collection. The collection is made from a knitted, heathered polyester fleece dyed with a low-impact process that significantly reduces the use of dyestuffs, energy and water compared to conventional dyeing methods.
Fair Trade Certified™
Fair Trade Certified-sewn products can raise workers’ wages and move them closer to earning a living wage. The programme also promotes worker health and safety, social and environmental compliance, and encourages dialogue between workers and management.
Patagonia is one of more than 1,000 companies representing 30 product categories that sell Fair Trade Certified products. Since the programme began in 1998, farmers and factory workers have earned $400 million in premium payments.
