Patagonia’s Black Friday Campaign Promotes Buying Less

Outdoor outfitter Patagonia placed a full-page ad in The New York Times on Black Friday, asking people to buy less on a day of high American consumerism. The headline read “Don’t buy this jacket” above an image of one of the retailer’s products. They copy then honestly explained the jacket’s environmental cost, before asking people to think twice before they buy anything.

Asking shoppers to think more carefully about what they purchase and the real cost of all the things they buy might seem counter-productive for a retailer wanting to grow its business. But Patagonia believes it’s important to address the issue of consumerism and try to lighten their environmental footprint. They wrote in a blog post:

Patagonia is a growing business – and we want to be in business a good long time. The test of our sincerity (or our hypocrisy) will be if everything we sell is useful, multifunctional where possible, long lasting, beautiful but not in thrall to fashion. We’re not yet entirely there. Not every product meets all these criteria. Our Common Threads Initiative will serve as a framework to advance us toward these goals.

Patagonia