‘We’ve lost the right to be pessimistic’: Patagonia treads fine line tackling climate crisis as for-profit company

The company is one of the largest outdoor apparel brands globally, but it has long grappled with how growth can contradict environmental activism

Under California blue skies, the Patagonia outdoor clothing brand’s corporate campus is bustling with its usual mix of employees, pets – and kids.

Situated in Ventura, north-west of Los Angeles and close to the beach for surfing purposes, the sprawl of neutral-colored stucco buildings is very on-brand for a business with a cult following among environmentalists. Wood-lined interiors make the offices feel more cabin than corporate. Blown-up posters from past marketing campaigns line hallways. “There are no profits to be made on a dead planet,” reads one from 2004.