21 November, 2025

Patagonia has long been the poster child of sustainability, proving you can build a successful business while pushing the boundaries of what responsibility looks like. So why does their latest impact report open with the observation that “nothing we do is sustainable”? 

This statement sounds alarming, but Patagonia has made real progress. In 2025 98% of electricity was from renewable sources, all new styles are made without added PFAS and 84% of their fabrics use materials with reduced impacts and increased benefits for climate.  

However, rather than wrapping these improvements in optimism, Patagonia has tackled the contradiction at the heart of any product-based business: making goods uses resources, and even the best-intentioned company leaves an impact. Instead of smoothing over those tensions, they’re putting them front and centre. The report is less of a celebration and more of an exercise in radical honesty, where success sits right alongside the missteps, trade-offs and uncomfortable bits they’re still figuring out.  

This level of transparency is unusually clear-eyed, avoiding the neat, linear narratives most impact reports promise. But it comes from a position very few businesses share. In 2022, founder Yvon Chouinard donated the company to a non-profit environmental organisation he founded which uses profits to fight against climate change and protect nature. This unique ownership structure, combined with a loyal customer base, allows Patagonia to say things that are hard for others to do: most companies would worry they would send stakeholders into panic mode if they announced “nothing we do is sustainable”. 

That doesn’t mean that the message isn’t relevant for everyone: sustainability isn’t a finish line, it’s a process of constant adjustment, course correction and often admitting that the perfect solution doesn’t exist yet. By exposing the shortcomings as openly as the wins, Patagonia is pushing the conversation forwards again. Real leadership isn’t about looking flawless, but striving for progress even in the face of challenges and being transparent throughout the process. 

By Nia Vines