Patagonia

My second one was Jen Rapp.

the PR rep for Patagonia to partner, like I end up like divorcing her husband and like living with Dean.

That was a twist I did not see coming.

You know, you kind of like she comes into the scene when the whole Delicate Arch controversy comes in and she's like, oh, just speaking about Patagonia and whatnot.

And then all of a sudden you're like, oh, yeah.

10 years later, she divorces her husband to be with Dean is like kind of the craziest one twist.

And.

Dean climbing the delicate arch and then the subsequent controversy that came from it.

Respect and gratitude to all First Nations people, including elders past, present, and emerging.

This season is supported by Patagonia, whose purpose-driven mission is to use business to save our home planet.

Today, we're in conversation with the great Shaun Tomson, who won surfing's 1977 World Championship, a title that came amongst some of the sport's most radical design revolutions.

Shaun bore witness to the twin fin's arrival and was an early adopter of Simon Anderson's Thruster.

So he said, "Hey, Shaun, there's a super cool little company in Ventura.

They make great fleecy jackets." I'm going, "No way." He goes, "Yes way." He said...

I said, "What's the name of this company?" He said, "It's called Patagonia." [laughs] I went, "What? Patagonia? The only Patagonia I know is the mountain range in Chile." He goes, "No, they make cool fleecy jackets.

Phone them up, and the owner's a surfer." So how about this? I immediately phone them up and go, "Hey, Shaun Tomson here in town looking for a graft, looking for a job.

Yeah.

Well, I would say, um, I'll keep, uh, name-dropping them until they, uh, come talk to me, which is Patagonia.

They do the best job-

[chuckles]

... across the world, right? So, you know, I would say the connection when, when done most effectively, you're allowing people to signal with their purchasing behavior, uh, a-- it says something about who they are, right?

Yeah.

As buyers, right? And, and so in the same way that, um, buying an e-- an electric vehicle signals something about who you are and how you prioritize things, buying a fleece from Patagonia that's recycled wool can also, um, signal that.

And I think that we oftentimes, um...

He said, I'm going to make something more gentle.

And that was a company called Patagonia.

This is the company that took full out page on Black Friday, which is the highest sales day, and said, don't buy this jacket.

The company runs the largest clothing repair operation in North America because the most responsible garment is the one you already own.

That is why their communities are so loyal, that's why customers come back.

I call it building companies with a soul.

When you walk in that workshop in Kingsale, or an office in Vilnius at Vinted, or you go to one of the Patagonia repair shops, you can actually truly feel it.

So what is your job in all of this? You thought you vote every four years.

Meanwhile, Ahn and the North Face introduced 10% discounts year over year.

while Patagonia increased its discount from 10% to 15%.

So all of that math together really is kind of a wash, right? The net effect is basically zero.

And I think that's arguably the most important strategic finding here.

Up next, a business leader who is not afraid to take on the White House.

The head of Patagonia is suing the administration over its cuts to protected national lands.

Patagonia CEO Ryan Geller is my guest next.

California is taking the Trump administration back to court over the fight to protect public lands.

The outdoor apparel company is suing President Trump over his move to shrink Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

But in July, Trump ordered the boundaries of Bears Ears to be reduced by more than 1.2 million acres, roughly 91% of the monument.

It could open much of that land to drilling and mining.

Patagonia argues that current law lets presidents designate monuments, not dismantle them.