Can a consumer goods company make a profit while making a difference? We've been looking at that question all semester. We have looked at many corporations that have an interest in social responsibility and "do good" for the community around them. What we haven't seen yet (until now) is a company that actually tells you to buy less of their product. Enter Patagonia.
Patagonia is asking their customers to "Reduce What you Buy" and are "encouraging their customers to reduce, repair, reuse, and recycle their clothing and equipment." At first glance this might seem as though it would hurt their bottom line, but Patagonia is banking on it doing just the opposite.
They are partnering with eBay in this endeavor. Yes, you need to read the linked articles to understand the business plan, but once you read it I have a couple questions for you:
What are your thoughts on this? Can Patagonia make a go of this? Could other companies do the same? Does the company that tries this need to have a certain "mindset" before they could be successful at it?
