All of us have heard of Patagonia, the outdoor clothing and gear company that makes durable threads for every climate.  Most of us have heard of their "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign from the 2011 holiday season, subversively and brilliantly encouraging people to buy less instead of more, thereby giving the earth a holiday present of its own.  But only a few of us were privileged enough to be present when Vincent Stanley, Patagonia's VP of Marketing, personally announced the company's new buyback program last week, completing the circle of its "reduce, repair, reuse, recycle" culture.

Stanley was giving a 15-minute micro-session about the "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign when an audience member asked what else the company was doing to support its "4 R's" mantra.  "I'm glad you asked," he responded, and explained that earlier in the week, the brand had made its first buyback from a customer who brought back a piece of used clothing for a fair exchange.  The pilot program, launched in Portland and called Common Threads, involves a section of the store where customers can trade in or sell back their Patagonia items once their time together has run its course.  

Portlanders (and Portland visitors), be sure to come back and post in our comments section about your experience after you give Common Threads a try.  Once you've climbed a few mountains and had a few adventures of your own, it's nice to offer someone with a tighter budget the opportunity to do the same.  With such a money-where-its-mouth-is approach, we're sure Patagonia will continue making its customers very happy campers indeed.