Yvon Chouinard — climbing, surfer, author, Patagonia founder –spoke at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in October of 2006 about Patagonia’s business practices and environmental responsibility. Much of it comes from his book Let My People Go Surfing, but there are some interesting new points from the discussion.
- In the year between publishing the hard-cover edition and soft-cover edition, Patagonia’s transportation costs have risen so much that they are more expensive than the materials themselves. Shipping materials from China to Thailand to wherever will need to be altered.
- All Patagonia products will be made from recycled materials by 2010.
A few of his opinions are worth examining a bit more, but certainly refreshing to hear in a business school setting.
- He won’t make the products cheaper because he won’t compromise quality. An audience member asked about reducing consumption and Chouinard thinks his products quality reduces the need to buy so many pieces of clothing. Of course, he wears his jeans to the threads, but most people might need more hints.
- He believes his employee (volunteer run) grants program is much more efficient than many environmental foundations, but he only cites the distribution of money
- He believes green companies are some of the best companies to work for. Their mission means they’ll also treat their employees well.
You can listen, watch, or read more about the talk :
Article about the speech
Video of Yvon Chouinard at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Podcast of Yvon Chouinard at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
One half of the climbing couple Steph Davis and Dean Potter has a new book out, HIGH INFATUATION: A Climber’s Guide to Love and Gravity. This article from the Coloradoan briefly mentions Davis’ background as a law school drop out and living in her car. More interesting is her discussion about challenges of balancing the climbing projects of the couple (you may just need to find someone else to help you on the project…), read more in Reaching new heights.
If you’ve ever wondered how you could afford to climb in the remote parts of the world, you need both technical skills and social skills. You probably will still need money in the 5 digits. One guy manages to make and work, and you can still dream about: Climbing on the ‘cheap’
This AP article’s getting published in a lot of places and it makes sense. Mountaineers and scientists are probably the only people that venture out to some of the glaciers that showcase the dramatic impact of global warming. The article includes quotes by Yvon Chouinard and Mark Bowen. Read more about it here: Climbers observe global warming
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Sex. It’s pretty harmless, but the advice about the harness is much appreciated. Looks like that was actually the syndicated version, read the full nerve version.
Sorry, I lagged on this post so the original article expired. The book that inspired it is here: Berkeley Rocks, Building With Nature. It features homes in Berkeley where the rocks are a part of the house or nearby landscape. We once looked at an in-law unit in a house that was close to the Castle Rock area. You could see Mortar rock from the kitchen window. The owners thought the climbers were neat. Since the problems were really hard, there weren’t that many people there that often.
I’m a big fan of the show and I wish I read this article before I was in central Texas for a week. Instead, I missed out on a few of the stars’ hangouts and a Barack Obama visit. Read the article Austin charms ‘Friday Night Lights’ cast and you’ll find out that the coach’s daughter (Aimee Teegarden) is not only almost as old as the actress’ age, but she also climbs at the Main Event.
In more Patagonia news, Dean Potter and his wife Stephanie Davis will not be ambassadors for the company as of May 1st. He received a lot of criticism for climbing Delicate Arch. . It’s a little surprising they didn’t end the relationship any sooner, but maybe the contract wasn’t easily severed. Read more in Climber Potter, Patagonia agree to split the synchilla
There’s a great new article in Fortune about Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. Worth a read, especially for some of the products they’re creating that have less impact on the environment.
ÉMINENCE GREEN
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but you must see this set of photos by hrtmnstrfr on flickr.
Ghetto Climbing in Memphis
There’s another photo that shows a train passing by. Not sure where exactly this is though!