Patagonia is constantly leading the charge as an eco-friendly and sustainable business in the outdoor industry, and their new pop-up store on Pearl Street in Boulder falls right in line with their current ethos.
The pop-up is a brick-and-mortar store of Patagonia’s Worn Wear collection. Worn Wear is a program that essentially creates a high-end Goodwill — people donate or sell their old Patagonia clothes to be resold or made into another garment.
For other customers, that means more affordable Patagonia gear; for the planet, that means less clothing heading to landfills and an overall lessoning of environmental footprints. As Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard says, “The best jacket for our planet is one that already exists.”
Gear at the Worn Wear store runs from $25 up to $225, depending on the item.
At the Boulder store, all employees are trained in quick fixes, such as repairing snaps, zipper, and easy hand-sewing needs. If repairs are more difficult, items get sent to a nearby store and will be good as new in four to six weeks. Overall, Patagonia repairs more than 100,000 items each year in 72 repair centers globally.
The Boulder store also offers workshops for the public, like how to up-cycle an old tee shirt, basic hand sewing workshops, and patch workshops.
Also at the Worn Wear store is Patagonia’s ReCrafted Collection, a collection of clothes made from other clothes. And in a stylish way, you can tell. You’ll find puffy vests and jackets that are patch-worked together with bright and fun details, as well as re-crafted bags and pouches.
Want to resell your old Patagonia gear?
The company will buy back products that are in good condition in exchange for store credit and will resell them on WornWear.com. You can mail them in or drop them off at local stores. The store credit will depend on the type of gear and condition; for example, a cashmere sweater or alpine soft shell will get you $40. Currently, the company is only accepting gear that doesn’t have next-t0-skin contact, so no baselayers or beanies, but bring in dresses, duffels, and fleeces. Check out the entire list here.
