Transcript of Live Chat Tues. 5/8 2-3PM EST with Jill Dumain, Patagonia clothing company

Unfortunately, I won't beable to join the live chat on Tuesday, but I do have a question for you Jill. I have spoken with both William McDonough, the architect, and Michael Braungart, the German chemist, and both have assured me that by breaking down or recycling plastic bottles (which contain phylates) that you're taking a toxic product, the plastic bottle, and now turning it into something that can shed and be inhaled into our systems. What are your thoughts on this? Let me assure you, they were referring to carpet made by recycling plastic bottles, not fleece. But I'm not sure there is a difference. Please comment.

Yes: I would like to serve as The US President in 2008 and 2012 on any available party lines, as I have fulfilled The Constitutional age and residency requirements to assume the Powers of The Office of The President of The United States, and am an American Catholic National, and presently the Nassau County Executive Chairman to The Constitution Party, LI,NY, and have appeared personally with NY State Right To Life Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Vincent Garbitelli on cable channel 20 recently, in support of the health of women and children and earned the Award of Appreciation from The NY Blood Services last year for my 87 Lifetime Whole Blood and Blood Platelet Donations for The United States Marines, and others in need. Unfortunately there has been no Special Ops to forcibly remove the Iranian, Libyan and Syrian terrorists who conspired, payed for, and carried out the Pan Am Flight #103 Bombing which took another 270 innocent people in 1988, among the tens of thousands murdered, deported, abducted and robbed over the 37 years in power over the years by Abu Minyar (colonel Muammar Gaddaffi ) of Libya and probably also Iranian Mullahs and their underlings and Syrian Fascist or Communist spies and henchmen and women who support and conspire for the destruction of American military and civilian populations, the state of Israel, and NATO countries friendly to American Citizens and Nationals with no conflicts of interests. This would be great for the environment, and needs to be broadcast on the Sundance Channel since polar ice caps melting and climate changes are pretty esoteric for so many who do not reduce, reuse and recycle and vote in every election for responsibility as I have done in my 37 years. God Bless, Ecologically and Hopefully Electorally Yours also, Sir Daniel M. J. Tobin 516 489-0292 I might watch the show on tv but am typing this from work at the library, not home.Thanks, stay in touch.

Hi I will not be able to be here for the live chat. But do have a question when I go to the sites where they sell organic clothes, none are in my size. How do I deal with wanting to buy but not able to do it. 3x

Patagonia does have a store that sells out of season items of clothing for a much lower price. At least they did the last time I was in Ventura, CA.

Sounds interesting, I will try to attend.

I love Patagonia and echo those that are interested in learning more - and especially finding great bargains on environmentally-friendly clothing & products.

We look forward to the live chat with Jill Dumain at 2 p.m. today and hope that you will be able to join us. If not, please feel free to leave a question for Jill in the comment thread below.

I am interested in finding out more about the idea of recycling clothing.
Do you break down the fabric and use it to make new cloth?
How is that done?

Hello everyone,
See you at 2:00 EST.

Thanks!
Jill

Jill, Welcome to Gather! We look forward to spending the next hour with you as you answer Gather member questions about sustainability and the clothing industry.

Last week when Dennis Wilde held a live chat I asked him why there couldn't be carbon credits attached to credit card purchases instead of air miles. I would like to ask you why environmentally friendly companies like Patagonia don't they attach carbon credits to products they sell. Until a major bank starts keeping track of credits that could actually be traded, the purchase of products with carbon credits attached could be applied to specific projects that reduce CO2 output like windfarms. Like the Newman's Own Foundation that has donated over $200,000,000 for common good causes, Patagonia would have one more avenue to lead the global business community toward environmental sustainable practices. would this be a viable idea for Patagonia? If so, how would you suggest making it a reality for other companies?

Suzi,
We have worked with our vendors on these issues. I think the chemical they have referred to is a specific catalyst that is sometimes used to make polyester or PET. When we recycle the polyester clothing or the bottles into new polyester, we don't know what type of catalyst has been used in the original processing of the polyester but we are not use the catalyst that Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart have spoken about in the actual recycling process. So there is some residual from what we are taking in but we are not adding in addiitional amounts. And we have been assured that the catalyst doesn't present a problem to the end consumer of our recycled polyester.

Welcome Jill!

What is the latest in sustainable fabrics and innovative clothing?

Pearl,
Thanks for your question. The best recommendation that I have for you is to ask the labels that you like to buy to make the switch to oragnic cotton. There is nothing stronger than a comment coming from a loyal customer. I think it is great to see the expansion of organic fibers to many different companies now and the choice is growing quickly. Hopefully some of the brands that you like buy will see they have willing customers if they do indeed hear from you!

Melinda,
When we build clothes, we build them to last. Our philosophy around price is that if build in the attributes to make a product last, over the long run the cost will be the same as buying 2-3 other garments that might make up the lifetime of a Patagonia garment.

Dale gives a great suggestion! We do indeed have outlet stores in several locations throughout the country. You can find the others on our website at patagonia.com.

Thanks,
Jill

Laura,
The answer will reflect a bit of the last two. The market has expanded broadly in the last few years with many different styles and price points becoming available in organic fibers. So if there are brands that have worked well for you and at price points you have purchased, write or call them and ask them to incorporate organic and environmental considerations into their product line.

Thanks,
Jill

Emily S. from WA sent us this question: Jill, I love Patagonia's line of clothing. It makes me feel good to be supporting a company that has such a great attitude about their manufacturing processes and how it affects the environment. What do you find the most challenging part of your job? Most gratifying?

Would have been helpful it there was a link posted to the CHAT ... I don't the chat in Green or Sundance ... where is it? I realize that by now it is 2/3 over ... but still can't find it.

Hi Karen,
You ask a good question and one that I spent a lot of time on a few years back! There are a couple of different processes that are used. When we recycle the bottles, it is a mechanical process where the bottles are ground up, melted and extruded into new polyester fiber. (simplified a bit). When we take the clothing in to be recycled, it is a chemical process. Also a simplified explanation is that the polyester is de-polymerized into the monomers used to make polyester and then re-polymerized into new raw materials for making polyester. This process gives us more flexibility in our product development capabilities so it is really nice to have both options.

Thanks,
Jill

Mr. Bill, This article is the chat. Feel free to ask Jill a question within this thread.

Karen,
One last thing I forgot to add, there is a lot of information on our website as well. Just type in 'recycle' to the search and I think it will take you to the appropriate page.

Jill

Jill, after working for Patagonia have you become more conscious about your own clothing choices? If yes, what do you look for in your clothing purchases?

Doug,
Wow, big idea! It will be interesting to see exactly where the carbon offset market does develop, maybe this will be one of them! One challenge that jumps to my mind is the "flexibility" of the garment industry. Once a windmill is built, it pretty much does what it was built to do so the carbon offsets can be calculated. My concern with credits that are attributed to how a garment is made, is that changes can and do happen during the manufacturing process. We might plan it one way but then something happens out of our control and the associated carbon offset would change. One quick story about a jacket we tried to make many years ago had everything that could go wrong, go wrong. From a fire at the fabric mill to a huge earthquake at the sewing factory so we had a lot of decisions to make that eventually altered the carbon footprint of this garment.

Jill,
Is the recycle program that Patagonia does unique to Patagonia? Or has your company started the trend of having customers use the drop-bins to recycle clothing? I never heard of it until I saw the episode WEAR.

Ok, I'm back. I was looking for an opening statement or something like that.

Jill, does Patagonia actually make the remanufactored fabric (fleece) or just design and produce the clothing from the fabric?

Dale,
Another big question! I have come to realize that the answer to this is different for each company. I say this because it is so difficult to do it all! So what I see happening is that companies decide their values and develop product to those values. One company might consider sustainable agriculture as the most important so they will focus here. For us the focus has been a lot on recycling efforst lately and trying to bring this more mainstream and into closed loop recycling processes. If we are able to reuse more of the petroleum products already extracted, this is truly innovative!

Jill,
Also, is there a way to recycle your clothes if we don't live near a Patagonia store?

Jill,

How about attaching carbon credits in a finite sum according to Patagonia's bottom line overall contribution. In other words relate your efforts in a form that your customers benefit by supporting your efforts. Win Win Win. Customers Company Planet.

Hi Emily,
Actually, I think the most challening and gratifying aspect are very closely linked, they are both...working with all the people involved in the process. It is challenging because everyone isn't always headed in the same direction but you need them to at least be aligned to get any work down. And it is the most gratifying because once people have worked on a successful project, they feel empowered to further incorporate environmental work into their jobs on a regular basis. This is so amazing to see when it happens!

Jill,

Thank you for a more complete answer than I expected. I actually was referring only to Patagonia's latest clothing ideas. And I think the recycling effort in the stores and remanufacturing is a great and very innovative idea.

Kiley,
Absolutely, and not just my clothing choices but many decisions in my life. There are quite a few things but timelessness and durability are high on my list. If I can wear something for a long time, I don't have to replace it with something new. I try to buy from companies that are incorporating environmental considerations into their companies products and operations. I buy many organic and recycled products but have to admit, many of my clothes haven't worn out yet so I do still have items in my closet that don't fit in this definition. But I will admit that I do buy something because I like it, even if it isn't organic. But I will make sure that it is of a quality that it can be part of my wardrobe for a while! We all like new styles afterall!

Leah,
Patagonia was the first to launch this program on a global basis but there are other companies working with our partner Teijin in Japan. We began with accepting only our own baselayer polyesters but have expanded the program now to also include other brands. We have to work closely with Teijin to make sure what we take in is appropriate to their process. There is more information on our website as well about the recycling, I gave some of that info in an earlier answer.

We have also encouraged other companies to start a take back program as well and have been open in tallking to others about it.
Jill

Mr. Bill,
We do not manufacture any of our fabrics. We buy them from fabric vendors and have them sewn to our specifications for our garments.

Glad you found us!

Thanks,
Jill

AC,
Yes you are right, it is the best to completely wear something out before recycling it. We have encouraged our customers to pass it along if it is still usable before sending it to us. We also have an extra "filter" with our returns department taking any usable garments out of the recycling bins for donation.

Thanks,
Jill

This is a great chat everyone! Unfortunately, we will have to wrap it up in 15 minutes. Jill will answer as many questions as time allows.

Thanks Jill, I will check out the info on your site and I will pass it along to my friends and family. :)

Leah,
Yes, we are expanding the drop off locations all the time. We now have some of the retail stores that carry our product starting to collect. I am sorry I don't have this information off the top of my head but should be on our website. You can also mail them back, not overnight!, to our warehouse or retail store close to you. We have actually encouraged customers to mail them in because it is one of the best environmental options. Especially as compared to driving to a store.

Thanks,
Jill

Thanks for the above Jill...I just looked on your site and instead of driving I figured out (due to that neat address finder you folks have) that I can take the Subway to your Boston store to drop stuff off. Mailing is a good idea for my friends that live further from the city. I would have never thought of that, but it makes sense!

Jill, how did you get chosen to appear on "The Green"?

Doug,
You have obviously thought a lot about this one! Hmmm as I think about it, it would be great to have all the information to actually figure this one out. To start, there probably needs to be an industry initiative to determine a baseline to benchmark from so you could compare the data.

I certainly don't have all the answers on this one!

Jill

AC,
I believe that 30% of our line is recycled at this point. We are working towards the day that we will have an "end of life" solution for all of our garments. If recycling makes the most sense, this will be the choice.

Thanks,
Jill

David C. from MA sent in this question: Jill, Aside from an environmentally friendly approach to production, what do Patagonia employees do on a day to day basis to reduce their carbon footprints while at work?

Jill,

I really appreciate the thoughfulness that not only goes into Patagonia's long range plans, but in your answers as well. Thinking of the best way to environmentally return clothing for recycling is thinking ahead.

And I'm pleased to find out for the first time, that you have other outlet stores across the country. I have not yet looked at Patagonia's website, but will after the chat is over.

My daughter Jamie and my grandson Phillip worked for Patagonia in Ventura, CA for years and they have nothing but good things to say about it and they learned a lot by being there.

So happy you could chat with us.

Leah,
Great! Goes back to the gratifying part of my job. Showing people some new options! So you were able to see on the website for what is recyclable through our Common Threads Recycling Program. If the clothes are still wearable, pass them onto someone else first!

Thanks,
Jill

Thanks Jill for the reply. My follow up question is:

Where does Patagonia out-source their clothing manufacturing?
Domestic manufacturers, Asia, Central America?

Jill,
I don't have the answers either (thus the questions). I am willing to investigate further because of the encouragement of you and Dennis Wilde. My feeling is there should be a way to let companies and customers work together toward a common good goal. Climate change just seems more global than most. Pun intended.

I will send this request for information to your headquarters. It is nice to know companies like Patagonia care.

Kiley,
I was chosen based on some of the past work I have done and many of the projects we have discussed here. I have been working in the sustainable textile field for over 15 years now, starting with organic cotton in 1991! Ouch, can I have really been doing this for this long now? There was an advisory committee put together for the series and someone was familiar with some of my projects.

Thanks,
Jill

David,
Good question and one that I seem to be getting a lot lately. I will give a few examples. We have recycling bins under all of our desks and it is our responisibilty to recycle our own trash, no one will come and pick it up. We encourage carpooling and alternative transportation to work. We offere a subsidy for employees that want to purchase a hybrid vechicle that gets over 45 mpg. We compost our food scraps from our on site cafe. We purchase almost exclusively organic items for the cafe. The vast majority of our office paper products are 100% recycled paper...we haven't been able to find the green bar paper in recycled so let us know if any of you have!

Thanks,
Jill

Unfortunately, our time is up. Jill, thank you for joining us today! And a big thanks to Gather members who participated. Until next time!

Mr. Bill,
We source all over the world. All of the places you mentioned and Europe as well.

Thanks,
Jill

Thanks everyone, I had a great time chatting with you all!

Jill

jill - wow, great interview! i LOVE patagonia things, and since my brother and SIL are hikers/surfers/snowboarders/skiiers/well what don't they do, we have lots of your clothes in our family. i appreciate learning about the recycling part. that is fantastic!!

AC, Be sure to donate your used reuseables to a place that gives the items away for free or join your local Freecycle(tm) group to donate reuseables. Taking part in the nation's growing gift economy is a great way to get (and stay) green, and you don't have to worry about your generous donation becoming part of a landfill.

Most of the places most commonly donated to (the ones that sell things like Goodwill, DAV, Council of the Blind, and even the Salvation Army) usually have a huge surplus of clothing items, and many of the donations go straight into the dumpster in the back, if for no other reason than that they don't have a place to store them.

When your items become unuseable, donate them to be recycled. I wonder if Patagonia clothes accepts mail-in donations from areas where there is no store? A clothing recycling center would be a great idea in every city. I bet even shipping companies would get in on the action to save the enviornment by offering free shippng on clothing boxes to the company if the advertising green for their good deed was included in the proposal. :D