Agree 100%. Patagonia could (and used to) make their products in the US, sell them for the same prices, and still make a profit. They don't, and instead chose

Agree 100%. Patagonia could (and used to) make their products in the US, sell them for the same prices, and still make a profit. They don't, and instead chose to outsource their manufacturing to countries where environmental regulations, even if they exist, are seldom enforced. This is a canonical example of companies who embrace a veneer of social good piety, and under the surface are utterly hypocritical. Most of the items in the brand are entirely, as you say, social status signals.