It’s tough to be a green retailer since the essence of your business is getting people to consume your goods. This is especially hard for a fashion company that builds in a planned obsolescence to their outfits. No one is more cognizant of this than Patagonia. I would consider Patagonia more of a gear company than a fashion company, but it’s impossible to argue that there isn’t a fashion component to their gear. And a company that designs stylish gear shouldn’t be demonized for doing so. So they’re faced with a quandary: What can we do to be greener given the inherent nature of our business? Well, they came up with the Common Threads Initiative. And they opened an eBay storefront to help people buy and sell their durable goods, regardless of how out-of-fashion they may be. And they also have a pledge you can take, which sounds, frankly, like a terrible idea for anyone, but hey, it might work for you.

Ski season in Patagonia should be at its peak. Kids are out of school for a while, the snow’s coming down and ski towns built on tourism are setup. Unfortunately a volcano in Chile’s been puking ash on the resorts and neighboring towns keeping the airports and resorts on lock down. People are wandering around town wearing ski goggles, but it’s just to keep the ash out of their eyes. I’m surprised no enterprising skiers are uploading GoPro footage of them floating down the mountain covered in ash, but I suppose it’s tough to skin up an ash-covered mountainside. Plus it’s probably not great to breathe or wash out of your ski jacket.

Cesare Fiorucci of Italy is in the strange habit of documenting everywhere he travels in his Patagonia Stand Up Shorts by writing the country and date on the inside of his pockets. The first entry “Guinea Bissau 88/89″ ended up in a monument to the man and the shorts in the Patagonia Milan store. That’s right, Patagonia has a store in the fashion capital of the world. But in their defense, in that store, they have a plaque on the wall honoring Cesare, who once asked Yvon Chouinard how he was able to get so rich making clothes that actually last.

Thanks Brian