WeY got inspired by Patagonia

The bigger problems become, the bigger the need for change.

The world is running out of resources and yet the throwaway culture has never been larger. Impulse buys, the quality of goods decreasing over the years and shortening product lifespans.

These are just a few of the topics discussed during our WeY sustainability meeting.

Over the past years WeY got to know Willem Swager, director of Finance and Operations EMEA at Patagonia and got intriged by the Patagonia story. On September 23 Willem guided us in our conversation on sustainability.

Even he could not forsee that in that exact week Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, would announce giving away his company completely. After already directing 1% of Patagonia’s yearly profit to the planet, he decided 98% of the company’s ownership goes to Holdfast Collective. This way the company’s profit will be used fully to prevent climate change. What an example of leading by example.

Willem started off by telling us about the founding of Patagonia in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard, the company’s remarkable growth and development throughout decades, with sustainability infused in everything they do. How all the employees find purpose in how they do their job, and every decision is based on how does it impact the world, instead of just looking at profit.

 

This inspiring story kickstarted our conversation.

  • What is sustainability to us?
  • What do we already do at home and at work?
  • How can we be more careful about both use of energy and materials and maintain durable relationships?
  • What else would we like to do? And the post important question, why do we want to do this?
  • What common purpose do we have that drives us?

At the end of this meeting it was very clear to us; It’s time for WeY to change our game! Giving away WeY for greater purpose is a bridge to far for now, but the answer on how WeY can contribute is an important question.

The coming period we will use to determine how WeY is going to contribute to this topic, how we can be of use to our customers and how we want to act for the greater good. We will keep you posted.

 

Can we learn from you?

We are sure there are mores examples like Patagonia, maybe your business is addressing the same topic. We would be happy to hear how your journey has been. Feel free to contact WeY and let's inspire each other on what we can do for eachother and the world.