5 ms·

Patagonia is great but obscenely expensive - a solution that does not scale at all. $300 sweater jacket http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-down-sweater-jack

• mulmen 9y ago
  But if they sold in larger volumes would the price go down with economies of scale? Maybe not as far as the cheapest stuff on the market but it could become attainable. or maybe parts of their approach could be used to build a cheaper line of clothing that is still environmentally responsible.
  • user5994461 9y ago
    Yes and no. The costs of manufacturing may go down but it doesn't mean that it will be passed down to the consumers. Generally speaking, selling cheaper is a bad business decision. It will increase costs and decrease earnings, you don't want to do that as a business. Prices should go up, not down. In this specific case, we're talking about a niche brand appealing to an affluent audience. They milk their customers to give them good conscience. The price can't go down, that's against the business model.
• m_mueller 9y ago
  Isn't that inflation adjusted pretty much a normal price for a down jacket 30 years ago? Something that you'd buy once every 3-4 years or so? At least that's how I'm still treating this. Also, I'm Swiss, so my sense of pricing may be off here. But winter shoes and winter jackets for us is something expensive that one doesn't buy often.
  • Avshalom 9y ago
    300$ USD is ~25% of a entry level workers monthly pay (net) in the US. Housing frequently hits between 50-30%, transportation another ~20%. Which means buy a 300$ anything means not eating that month for a large % of the US. Obviously Patagonia is still running which means there are enough people who can spare that but it's not universal (see the Sam Vimes Theory of Economic Inequality). ETA: 300$ = 25% => 1200 a month net => 1500 gross (if no state taxes) => 9.38 an hour IF we assume the completely unrealistic 40/week
    • IntronExon 9y ago
      That sounds like a problem with depressed wages, not the price of the coat.
      • Avshalom 9y ago
        Welcome to the USA?
        • IntronExon 9y ago
          Absolutely, but my point is that the cost is reasonable, the wages are not, and that implies a fix. Moreover, the fix doesn’t lie with Patagonia. Even more, if the true cost of things like clothing weren’t extermslized brutally, Americans would be far more aware of the pressing need for said fix.
          • Avshalom 9y ago
            I certainly agree that 300$ USD should be completely reasonable for something that lasts half a decade, I'm just not sure how to get from here to there realistically (well in the 5-10 year short term).
            • user5994461 9y ago
              I don't know how you can consider any $300 clothes reasonable. It doesn't cost a tenth of that to make and deliver.
              • Avshalom 9y ago
                >for something that lasts half a decade Personally I made ~11000 USD last year: I consider $30 to be unaffordable, that's not the same as believing I should have to consider it unaffordable.
              • llao 9y ago
                > It doesn't cost a tenth of that to make and deliver. Well, not if you have a conscience about our ecosystem.
  • Cthulhu_ 9y ago
    How much have wages increased since then? I can imagine on average, people's purchasing power has decreased a lot since then. Mind you this is also due to rising fixed expenses - didn't have cable, internet, phone subscriptions back then either. And work was often closer to home, so less travel expenses.
• snowwrestler 9y ago
  They have web specials on their site, and a 50% off sale at least twice a year. Get on their mailing list and they'll tell you when it happens. Pretty sure this is the same jacket, in an old color: http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-down-sweater-jacket/84674.html?dwvar_84674_color=DTSM&cgid=web-specials-mens#tile-3=&start=1&sz=24 http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-down-sweater-jacket/84...
• vira28 9y ago
  I do agree. That's why see many companies like this https://aprl.la https://aprl.la are coming up quickly in this space.
  • soared 9y ago
    Zero info on that site. I'm looking for a jacket that lasts 5 years of consistent use that is not $300. Doesn't look like that site will provide it? (Nothing against that brand because I don't know it but it looks like one of those shitty instagram ad brands)
    • llao 9y ago
      5 years of consistent use, let's say that goes to ~180 days per year (no idea what your climate is) -> 900 days of wear. A $300 jacket would cost you 30 cents per day of usage then. Are you sure you do not spend a higher fraction of your money on ephemeral luxury like beverages or entertainment?