Up here in Maine, Third Act Maine has been asking another iconic outdoor company, L.L. Bean to stop using Citibank for its credit card services. Citi is one of the dirtiest banks in the world, gleefully financing fossil fuel projects. We have also reminded L.L. Bean that research shows that parking your profits in a Citi account significantly increases your carbon footprint. If the dirtiest banks were a country they would rank as number four in carbon emissions worldwide. LL Bean is not interested, it's all about customer benefits from their Citi card. By contrast, Patagonia offers no credit card and they acknowledge the harm done by banking with Chase, Citi. Wells, and BOA. They park their money with green banks. So, Emily, perhaps your next segment could be about the greenwashing masters at LL. Bean, whose marketing slogan is , "the outside is inside everything we do". NOT!
It seems they're not claiming ownership of the name, merely the use of the name in their specific industry. There's still a conversation to be had about the oddity of using the name of a region the company has no particular ties to, but they don't appear to be claiming ownership.
Right, I tried to communicate that the company is claiming ownership for a specific purpose, which is selling clothes and outdoor gear. Apologies if that did not come across.
However, I’d argue that’s still claiming ownership over a region even if in a specific way. And the moral questions around that are deeply under explored. These conversations I had I think barely scratch the surface.
I think this is really important, based on snippets of the filings I’ve seen on bsky Patagonia worked hard to come to an agreement with Pattie Gonia about acceptable use and the current situation is infringing directly on that agreement. Not to mention the fact that the suit is for $1 plus fees, so clearly Patagonia doesn’t have any interest in really penalizing Pattie Gonia here and their lawyers disagree with Roberts about the necessity.
Doesn’t detract from the larger conversation about trademarks being based on real places and people, though.
Thought provoking piece. Another angle on this story is the large land purchases made by the former CEO of Patagonia (Tompkins) and the transfer of those lands to Argentina and Chile to form parts of several national parks e.g. Patagonia National Park.
I find it a fascinating possibility that Pattie Gonia may have filed for using the name to develop an apparel line IN EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEMATIC WAY as the corporate Patagonia has done in order to bring attention to the problematic way that Patagonia, Inc. is co-opting a region's name for its own commercial purposes. Maybe Pattie can strike a deal: I will stop using it if you will do the same. I mean, after all, they received a degree in advertising and public relations after all, so they may know exactly what they are doing.
Pattie Gonia is also using a similar logo and has, I think?, sold a million dollars worth of outdoor clothing with the name and similar logo. I think Wyn Wiley is being very deliberate about this. This is not a few pieces on Etsy. But why is another matter.
You are right. I can't find the logo on any page actually associated with Pattie Gonia. So it's likely I was mislead. That image unfortunately changed my perspective quite a lot. I'm sharing an example of what is being attributed to Pattie Gonia. https://snowbrains.com/patagonia-wants-to-settle-pattie-gonia-lawsuit/ I haven't ever read this page. I'm just sharing the image.
I understand, the social media conversation is craaaazy on this right now. I've found so much stuff that's just winds up being not true at all. It's a really difficult story to parse through.
Perhaps Pattie over-reached. Good PR though! Got in the NY Times. As far as whether or not cultural appropriation is involved or trademark law is kind of absurd, my brain is too crowded with other stuff right now.
I'm a long-time and pretty satisfied Patagonia clothing user. My biggest complaint with their enviro advocacy is that they have not come out swinging for offshore wind power, being based as they are in Ventura, instead, making beer from unproductive grains.
When I click on "clean energy - support a just transition to renewables" in Patagonia.com site the climate goals there is an insipid page titled "Invest in Community Power," with the only specific measure, a law limiting drilling, and "We support local knowledge and activation of climate solutions, particularly with Black, Indigenous and other communities of color," and the obligatory pic of rooftop solar. Oy vey.
Where's the story with their foul weather gear being worn by some workers headed out to Vineyard Wind on a CTV (Crew Transfer Vessel) through the chop?
I get the brain-too-crowded-right-now thing for sure. For me this was a nice thing to flood my brain with almost as a distraction from all the other bullshit (which I'm back on today, unfortunately)
And for the record, I didn't think about it much, but I thought Pattie Gonia was a hoot and doing good work and having some fun with it, which I try to do to, though mine seems more like angry fun, which not everyone gets. I mean: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/attack-solar-myths-potato-farms
I gotta laugh and scream at once at that bullshit! But it went viral enough to end up on a national energy transition website.
Looking through the list of Patagonia grantees, "GoodPower" is kinda trying to fight this crap. Maybe in addition to featuring the dry offshore wind crew. I'm sure Patagonia gear is, or could be, worn by some of the field biologists working in solar farms and documenting how well lots of species are actually doing. Often better than within some plowed & sprayed "industrial agriculture" farm. Maybe support REWI.org, the Renewable Energy and Wildlife Institute. The webinar I just watched on common turtles (Arkansas) and desert foxes (California) thriving in solar farms did NOT go viral.
I'm trying to remember what TM got my people riled up several years ago. Drawing a blank, but sometimes can seem absurd.
Up here in Maine, Third Act Maine has been asking another iconic outdoor company, L.L. Bean to stop using Citibank for its credit card services. Citi is one of the dirtiest banks in the world, gleefully financing fossil fuel projects. We have also reminded L.L. Bean that research shows that parking your profits in a Citi account significantly increases your carbon footprint. If the dirtiest banks were a country they would rank as number four in carbon emissions worldwide. LL Bean is not interested, it's all about customer benefits from their Citi card. By contrast, Patagonia offers no credit card and they acknowledge the harm done by banking with Chase, Citi. Wells, and BOA. They park their money with green banks. So, Emily, perhaps your next segment could be about the greenwashing masters at LL. Bean, whose marketing slogan is , "the outside is inside everything we do". NOT!
I like the angle!!
Email me more info about the campaign? Emilyatkin dot heated dot world
such good and necessary journalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Yessenia!!
I don't see any mention of the specific reason Patagonia sued - apparently, they had no problem with the drag performer Pattie Gonia for several years, until she "filed a trademark application in September to use the brand Pattie Gonia to sell clothing and promote environmental activism" ( https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/may/28/patagonia-sues-drag-queen-pattie-gonia-trademark-infringement-ntwnfb ).
It seems they're not claiming ownership of the name, merely the use of the name in their specific industry. There's still a conversation to be had about the oddity of using the name of a region the company has no particular ties to, but they don't appear to be claiming ownership.
Right, I tried to communicate that the company is claiming ownership for a specific purpose, which is selling clothes and outdoor gear. Apologies if that did not come across.
However, I’d argue that’s still claiming ownership over a region even if in a specific way. And the moral questions around that are deeply under explored. These conversations I had I think barely scratch the surface.
I think this is really important, based on snippets of the filings I’ve seen on bsky Patagonia worked hard to come to an agreement with Pattie Gonia about acceptable use and the current situation is infringing directly on that agreement. Not to mention the fact that the suit is for $1 plus fees, so clearly Patagonia doesn’t have any interest in really penalizing Pattie Gonia here and their lawyers disagree with Roberts about the necessity.
Doesn’t detract from the larger conversation about trademarks being based on real places and people, though.
Such an interesting dive into this topic - I've been following the story, but never thought about it with this framing. Thank you!
Thought provoking piece. Another angle on this story is the large land purchases made by the former CEO of Patagonia (Tompkins) and the transfer of those lands to Argentina and Chile to form parts of several national parks e.g. Patagonia National Park.
Great research, thank you so much
I find it a fascinating possibility that Pattie Gonia may have filed for using the name to develop an apparel line IN EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEMATIC WAY as the corporate Patagonia has done in order to bring attention to the problematic way that Patagonia, Inc. is co-opting a region's name for its own commercial purposes. Maybe Pattie can strike a deal: I will stop using it if you will do the same. I mean, after all, they received a degree in advertising and public relations after all, so they may know exactly what they are doing.
Yeah I find that interesting as well.
Pattie Gonia is also using a similar logo and has, I think?, sold a million dollars worth of outdoor clothing with the name and similar logo. I think Wyn Wiley is being very deliberate about this. This is not a few pieces on Etsy. But why is another matter.
I haven’t seen that wyn has sold clothes with the similar logo that, as I’ve been told, was fan made. Can you point me to that?
You are right. I can't find the logo on any page actually associated with Pattie Gonia. So it's likely I was mislead. That image unfortunately changed my perspective quite a lot. I'm sharing an example of what is being attributed to Pattie Gonia. https://snowbrains.com/patagonia-wants-to-settle-pattie-gonia-lawsuit/ I haven't ever read this page. I'm just sharing the image.
I understand, the social media conversation is craaaazy on this right now. I've found so much stuff that's just winds up being not true at all. It's a really difficult story to parse through.
Perhaps Pattie over-reached. Good PR though! Got in the NY Times. As far as whether or not cultural appropriation is involved or trademark law is kind of absurd, my brain is too crowded with other stuff right now.
I'm a long-time and pretty satisfied Patagonia clothing user. My biggest complaint with their enviro advocacy is that they have not come out swinging for offshore wind power, being based as they are in Ventura, instead, making beer from unproductive grains.
When I click on "clean energy - support a just transition to renewables" in Patagonia.com site the climate goals there is an insipid page titled "Invest in Community Power," with the only specific measure, a law limiting drilling, and "We support local knowledge and activation of climate solutions, particularly with Black, Indigenous and other communities of color," and the obligatory pic of rooftop solar. Oy vey.
Where's the story with their foul weather gear being worn by some workers headed out to Vineyard Wind on a CTV (Crew Transfer Vessel) through the chop?
I get the brain-too-crowded-right-now thing for sure. For me this was a nice thing to flood my brain with almost as a distraction from all the other bullshit (which I'm back on today, unfortunately)
And for the record, I didn't think about it much, but I thought Pattie Gonia was a hoot and doing good work and having some fun with it, which I try to do to, though mine seems more like angry fun, which not everyone gets. I mean: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/attack-solar-myths-potato-farms
I gotta laugh and scream at once at that bullshit! But it went viral enough to end up on a national energy transition website.
Looking through the list of Patagonia grantees, "GoodPower" is kinda trying to fight this crap. Maybe in addition to featuring the dry offshore wind crew. I'm sure Patagonia gear is, or could be, worn by some of the field biologists working in solar farms and documenting how well lots of species are actually doing. Often better than within some plowed & sprayed "industrial agriculture" farm. Maybe support REWI.org, the Renewable Energy and Wildlife Institute. The webinar I just watched on common turtles (Arkansas) and desert foxes (California) thriving in solar farms did NOT go viral.
I'm trying to remember what TM got my people riled up several years ago. Drawing a blank, but sometimes can seem absurd.