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Patagonia released this incredibly catchy song on youtube. I can’t say how many times I’ve listened to it, but it has definitely spent many days stuck in my head. There are bunch of crass comments in the song, so listener beware, but it is funny. I have a three R1s. One of the hoodies that I wear whenever I climb. I have a new adobe quarter zip that I wear when that one is dirty or when I need a thin active layer, like for skydiving. I also have R1 Techface hoodie that I don’t wear as much, but is still a fun piece (did wear last weekend, actually).

These pieces are pretty useful and I would recommend them as a great mid layer.

Today I’m wearing my hooded better swearer. I love this two tone masterpiece. It is comfortable as well as fashionable.

The Better Sweater line is designed to be a semi-warm fleece that performs better than standard fleece. For men, it comes in a bunch of different cuts. There is the hoodie version, the quarter zip, the full zip, a vest, and the performance version. Having tried all, the only one that is a little hard to wear is the quarter zip as it requires you to pull it over your head to put it on and take it off. The fabric is great but does develop some pilling. You can use a Sweater stone to remove unwanted pills.

The Better Sweater was one of the first pieces I bought from Patagonia and probably the only line I’ve fully tried out. I’m a huge fan and I continue to wear them weekly. 

I was reading the Wikipedia page for Patagonia the other day. This page seems a little small for the amount of business the company does, but still was an interesteing read. What really caught my eye was the part about Chouinard Equipment going out of business because of a liability case, but that what was left of the business became Black Diamond.

As a fan of Patagonia I had been wondering what had happened to Chouinards gear business. Yes, the clothing line is successful, but they started out making climbing gear. This page, in conjunction with Black Diamond’s Wikipedia page explain what happened to the company.

The products that they made were not the problem and the product lines have continued. Black Diamond is a very popular brand of gear and I have a bunch of their pieces. I feel somewhat cheated that I didn’t realize that they were part of the Patagaonia brand history.

I’m not sure I remember my  first piece of patagonia clothing. I do remember going home for Thanksgiving in 2014 and it being really cold. I needed to borrow a hat. I went through the drawer where my mother keeps her extra warm hats and gloves for people to use in the winter. I pulled out the blue and green patagonia hat and asked if I could wear it. I used it the whole trip and asked if I could take it with me. My mom was okay with it, but my little brother, Alex, was not. He said the hat was special and it belonged to the family and the house and I couldn’t just take it. He made up some story about its significance, which I’m pretty sure was fake.

Still, it got me to think about how certain pieces of clothing have a story. The really good pieces of clothing have many stories, over many years. Most of my clothes didn’t. Much of my clothes served there purpose and were recycled or thrown out. I was tired of that. I wanted my clothes to be better. I did a bit of research and found out about Patagonia’s gaurentee on their products. More research uncovered more interesting details about the company.

I was particularly struck by an add they took out in a newspaper where they told people not to buy their new jacket. The subtext was don’t buy it if you already have one that works, but still. What kind of company out there tells you to be careful when buying their products?

So it started with a blue green hat. Now a large portion of my clothes shopping is done at Patagonia. I wear my patagonia gear with pride.

That’s an apt title for this blog post. Hello World! How’s it going? How’s the air quality? What’s the state of human rights around the world?

I’m not overly politically minded. Well, I’ve never thought of myself as a political person. Yes, I vote. I tend to go democrartic, but I’m not one to go right into arguing politics. I believe people should pretty much have their own beliefs (this last election being a big exception, sorry). I am, however, a big fan of the environment. I remember when I was a kid, probably around the age of 7, organizing an earth day party with my friends where we went around the neighborhood picking up trash off the street. 

Clothing also runs in my family. My father was once caught with 27 pairs of pants growing up and then he actually went into fashion. My entire life my father has been working in that world. I didn’t go that way, and just because he dresses with style doesn’t mean that I do. My clothing style has always stayed on the more functional instead of fashionable side. Still, I do like my comfort clothing.

Lastly, I’ve also been raised to be an honest and ethical person. Doing the right thing has always been important for me. I don’t always get it right, but I try to do the right thing every time. 

Patagonia, Inc fits a harmony of these beliefs. Their founder Yvon Chouinard has tried to the keep the company environmentally conscious. There clothes they create are functional and long lasting, and as a company they try to do the right thing, not just the profitable thing.

This site is about this company. About the products they make, and how I use them. Hopefully over time it will also talk about other’s relationships with their products.