Patagonia is publishing my book Regenerating Earth. Yep, that Patagonia. Maybe you have one of their fleeces, jackets, or even wearing their underwear right now, like me. They also publish books and sponsor documentaries.
I’ve had a long relationship with Patagonia, a business owned by a non-profit with a mission to Save Our Home Planet, and couldn’t be more thrilled to work with them on this project.
Becoming a Patagonia Guy
During my Eagle Scout days, I was a North Face guy. I had their famous technical fleece and one of their very warm sleeping bags.
I became aware of Patagonia in 2005. I was working at Townsend Bertram & Company, an outdoor outfitter, in Carrboro, North Carolina. Someone brought in a fleece with a big hole burnt in it. They wanted to return it.
“Hold on a second,” I said. “Let me ask my boss.”
I walked to the back counter.
“We can’t accept this can we?” I asked. “It looks like they tried to light a cigarette in their mouth by leaning into a bonfire.”
“It’s Patagonia,” my boss said. “They’ll either fix it or send them a new one.”
I still had my doubts, so I called Patagonia. Sure enough they’d take it.
Holes, blown out zippers, ripped jackets, regardless of what it was or how it came to be Patagonia would take it back. That doesn’t make sense.
Neither does publishing a 368-page book with about 75+ color photos on the highest quality paper they could find. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Over the last 20 years I’ve gotten to know the people of Patagonia much more.
Awkward question: Where Am I Wearing?
When my book Where Am I Wearing? came out in 2008, there were very few brands in the garment industry willing to talk about the people who made their clothes. Patagonia was one of the first.
Their Footprint Chronicles website allowed customers to see where their clothes were made and read or watch a message from those who made them. This was revolutionary. While other companies were terrified of the question “Who made my clothes” Patagonia was more than willing to lead it.
Later I’d meet Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s second employee, while speaking at an event at a college on the banks of the Mississippi River. I asked him what the conversations were like that led to them listing the country of origin of each of their products online and in their catalogues. Very few brands do this today.
“I did that,” he said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
He also told me that every decision they made to lessen their impact on the environment led to savings in the long run. However, every decision they made to improve the lives of workers, cost them money. But they were willing to pay the cost.
After meeting Vincent, I got invited to their headquarters in Ventura. I was totally nerding out. They had childcare and an amazing dining hall. I gave a talk, caught up with Vincnent and chatted with the editors of Patagonia Books about possible projects. Before I left, I surfed with a dude named Chipper Bro. I flew home on a red-eye to Indiana still tasting the ocean.
Today Patagonia sources most of their clothes in Fair Trade factories and was the first large brand to use organic cotton.
I was talking up Patagonia way before there was a chance of partnering on a book.
The Book
About seven years ago, Karla, the editor at Pagonia Books, called me and asked what I knew about regenerative agriculture. You read that right . . . 7 years. It took us a year of bouncing ideas back and forth. Honestly, grew impatient in the process. I was chomping at the bit to set off and start reporting. I had no idea all that goes into their decisions. My proposal went all the way up to the top. Patagonia founder Yvonne Chouinard and his wife Belinda even read my previous books before the project would get the greenlight..
But once they were in, they were all in. Ultimately, the guidance, freedom, patience, and financial support made this book everything I imagined it could be. There was also the editorial support from my new best bud, Sharon AvRutick. Sharon flew into my life as an angel on manuscript wings.
Patagonia doesn’t just fix burned fleeces, they also fix bloated manuscripts. Sharon and I cut the 133,000 word manuscript, which would’ve been 700+ pages to 72,000 words. She also helped me find a structure to pull together all the stories to give it the hopeful vibe that I felt after meeting farmers from around the world.
In all of these interactions with Patagonia I never wanted something from them, and they never wanted something from me. We simply found ourselves in the same orbit of mutual appreciation that eventually led to Regenerating Earth.
Next month, I set off on a 9-city book tour where Patagonia stores will host me. I’ll get to meet even more Patagonia people and the community they’ve built. This all has been a dream. A ton of work, but a dream.
Here’s the tour schedule:
July 23rd, 6:30pm – Patagonia San Francisco
July 24th, 6:30pm – Patagonia Palo Alto
July 28th, 7:30pm – Patagonia Boulder
July 30th, 7pm – Patagonia Charlotte
July 31st, 6pm – Patagonia Nashville
Aug 4th, 6:30pm –Patagonia Austin
Aug 8th, 7pm – Patagonia Pittsburgh
Aug 9th, 7pm – Patagonia Atlanta – Buckhead
Sept 19th, 7pm – Patagonia St. Paul
