Six years ago, I invested in more than just a winter jacket; I invested in a belief. This belief was embodied in a Patagonia jacket that I got at a €100 discount. Though the price was still high, I viewed it as a commitment to sustainability and making responsible choices.

Image: Stock image of my trusty Patagonia Tres jacket

I justified it to myself on the basis of 1) I could afford it and 2) if it would last me ten years, it would be a worthy investment. Not only for me, but also, for us and the planet. By investing in the jacket from Patagonia, I wasn't buying one or several other jackets from less conscious companies, or worse, fast fashion.

I loved it. It was warm, dry and stealthy, perfect for Dutch winters.

It didn't last for 10 years though.

Four years in and the full length waterproof zip started to fail. By winter just gone, the zip was totally unusable. That's pretty unhelpful from a jacket that's designed to keep out rain and cold. I will admit that it is a long jacket, and living in the Netherlands, I cycle a lot - and this is undoubtedly not a good combination for the zip.

Despite this, I'm still incredibly happy to say that my investment and faith was not misplaced.

Patagonia just replaced the zip, free of charge, including shipping* both ways.
Not to mention, they turned it around in just 11 days!

The process was easy. I filled out a form on their website, including a few photos of the offending zip, and they replied with a return form and DHL label.

I shipped the jacket to them, and 11 days later I received a tracking number for the return shipment.

It arrived 1 day later and although I have no problem with clothing having scars, it really looks as good as new.

*I was thinking that I would have happily paid for the shipping, so why offer it for free? I think it's two things. The first being that they're taking away another piece of friction to encourage more repairs. The second, quite simply that as a company making many shipments, they get massively discounted shipping rates, so the cost probably isn't that much for them anyway.

Still, it's above and beyond.

I couldn't think of any other companies that offer free repairs. Flori pointed out that Nudie Jeans does, albeit through physical shops.

On telling this story to a friend today, he replied that based on my experience, he has decided that his next jacket purchase would be from Patagonia. Happy customers are great marketing.

I know Patagonia has had some bad press recently, and no company is perfect, but this really hits home the difference between a company that cares, and one that doesn't. A company that's taking the right steps versus one that isn't.

By the way - I'm creating the book and podcast series for people who want their small or medium business to make more profit and better impact. So if you want more of this, please sign up for more at https://sixtyminutestoimpact.xyz