These days, the words "sustainable" and "SDGs" have become widespread in Japan, and people's awareness of the environment is increasing. However, Patagonia has maintained a high level of environmental awareness since its founding in 1973, and is known as one of the most "responsible companies" in the world. We spoke to store manager Nohara about the significance of sending a message from Marunouchi as a pioneer in tackling environmental issues, and about the future he wants to walk with the city.

​The Marunouchi store was the brand's first attempt to move from the back streets to the main street.

Patagonia is a global Outdoor company headquartered in the United States. Since our founding in 1973, our goal has been to improve the health of the planet, and we have maintained the stance that business is only a means to an end. The Japan branch was established in 1988. At that time, the bubble economy was heating up in Japan, and people's attention was focused on consumption, and there was not as much interest in the environment as there is now. Meanwhile, Patagonia has consistently continued to send messages about the environment.

“At Patagonia, our mission is ``We are in business to save our home planet.'' We believe that our staff should use their own voices to convey our message about the environment to our customers, so we decided to open our branch in Japan. Our belief is that Apparel business itself is not sustainable.As a company that fulfills its responsibility to society and the environment, we create products using fair trade and recycled materials. However, environmental issues will not be solved if only Patagonia takes action.

The Marunouchi store in Tokyo opened in 2013. Initially it was a limited Period store for about a year, but then the current store opened as a permanent store in 2014. The reason behind choosing Marunouchi as the location for the directly managed store is as follows.

“We opened a store in Marunouchi because we believed that in order to solve environmental issues, we needed to connect with business people and people from various companies.Up until now, Patagonia stores had generally been opened on back streets, The concept was to convey a message to people who enjoy Outdoor in a place that is one step away from the city. However, by intentionally facing the main street, the Marunouchi store has the ability to connect with people who have not had the opportunity to talk to them before. I want to work together to solve the environmental crisis."

At the time when the Marunouchi store opened as a limited Period store, founder Yvon Chouinard published ``Responsible Company'' (Diamond Inc.), which summarizes the company's management to date. Mr. Nohara says that if something happens, he will return to this book.

``At the time, this book was widely promoted at the Marunouchi store, but rather than general management theory, it talks about ``What are the responsibilities we must uphold?'' learned from corporate history. What is interesting is that there is a checklist of actions that should be taken for the sake of the earth.From the items that companies should follow to maintain the health of their business, such as ``setting the default setting of copy machines to double-sided copying'', etc. It covers 23 pages of detailed but important information, including ideas that anyone can easily implement.Our staff members all have a strong awareness of the environment, so I think there are many other members besides me who use this book as a guideline.''

​The circle of environmental awareness has expanded through the “town” of Marunouchi.

Patagonia is also participating in Daimaru SDGs ACT5, a project that promotes a variety of activities to achieve SDGs starting in the Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho Area. Among the five themes of the project: "Sustainable Food," "Climate Change and Resource Recycling," "WELL-BEING," "Diversity & Inclusion," and "Communication," we will work on "Climate Change and Resource Recycling" and provide "Clothing Repair Service." It was provided.

“At the Patagonia Japan branch, we established a repair department in 1998, and we have been providing repair Service even before that, but with Daimaru Yu SDGs ACT5, we have an opportunity to let more people know about our services. There are even people who have been using our products for over 20 years through Service we introduce our products to them with stories like that, they are surprised and say, ``I'm going to use it for a long time!'' I'm happy to see the circle of awareness expand, even if it's just little by little."

In addition, each store is also implementing similar initiatives.

“The entire Patagonia company has set a goal of achieving zero waste (zero waste going to landfill) by 2025. Garbage generated at stores is divided into fine categories by material and type, measured monthly, and visualized. As a result, we have been able to reduce the amount of garbage every year by changing the behavior of individuals, reviewing store operations, and reviewing procurement at the head office."

Furthermore, we are also implementing measures involving nearby stores in Marunouchi for the future of the earth.

``During last year's House of Representatives general election, we ran Campaign called ``Let's Vote for Our Planet.'' Together with the 114 business partners who supported our campaign, we worked with 114 business partners to help protect the Earth, which is the foundation of our lives, economy, and society. We asked you to vote for. At the same time, although it was a closed Events, we had an opportunity to invite Allbirds, and wander, Goldwin, and others to give a session about Sports community online. It's not a matter of location, but it's very attractive to be able to connect stores with the same intentions and approach the future because of this area, and I think it will continue to grow."

We would like to increase the number of experiential Events and reach more people from Marunouchi.

Patagonia is currently taking an active approach to the environment beyond Apparel.

``Even people who only buy a new jacket every five or 10 years eat three meals a day. If we seriously want to protect the earth, the place to start is through food.''The founder said, ``We started a food department in Japan in 2016, and we are expanding our operations at our Marunouchi store.Organic Soup In addition to Seafood and beer, we also sell beers made with a perennial plant called ``carnza'' that absorbs carbon with its long roots.We have many repeat customers.''

He says he would like to continue working with Marunouchi on various measures as a place to disseminate environmental issues.

``At the Marunouchi store, we are able to meet different customers than at our previous stores, and many of our customers come with their families on holidays, so we encourage people of all ages to become interested in the environment, materials, and manufacturing through Patagonia products. You can learn about the initiatives involved.
Marunouchi/Yurakucho has an environment where you can feel nature, such as the Imperial Palace. In the future, as a region, we would like to increase the number of experiential Events and areas that go beyond shopping, such as running Events and future-themed talk sessions, to further convey the charm of the region and the advanced initiatives of each company. "I'm here."