On Oct. 3, 2024, the Great Outdoor Store hosted its sustainability night to spread awareness about sustainable living. Great Outdoor Store values sustainability as a company and makes sure the products they sell come from companies that also hold sustainability as a high priority. At sustainability night, the Great Outdoor Store hosted representatives from local non-profits such as Friends of the Big Sioux River and Building Sustainable Connections. Also present was their representative from Patagonia, Lara Silven, to spread Patagonia’s sustainability story and chat with members of the Sioux Falls community.
A major focus of the event was on the Patagonia brand and its strive for sustainability. For Patagonia, sustainability is rooted in the product, as great quality leads to longer wear. Patagonia extends the life of their products further by providing a generous warranty and guarantee, so the customer can have their gear repaired if anything were to damage the products.
“We really prioritize making the best product. Product has always been very important to us and that is in quality as well as in repairability as well as in the function of the product. If you have a high-quality, repairable product that functions well, it’s going to have a longer life,” said Silven.
In order to create a healthier world, Patagonia aims to eliminate common chemicals that are found on outerwear clothing and gear. The purpose of the chemicals is to create a better quality product but end up harmfully polluting the environment. By next year, Patagonia hopes to completely do away with the chemicals throughout the production of their products.
“Starting in 2025 we are free of PFAS that are intentionally implied, so PFAS are a category of chemical that is applied to products, outerwear in particular, that are also sometimes built into a waterproof membrane and it makes the product very durable and extremely weatherproof, but it is not great for the environment and it’s also not good for the people making the product,” said Silven.
Patagonia wants to use its brand name to create a greater community both on the local and national scale. By attending local events like the one held at Great Outdoor Store and talking to nonprofit organizations the brand hopes to generate the important work done by the local community regarding sustainability and make it possible to continue that progress.
“We utilize our national stage to help local stores like Great Outdoor Store and nonprofits like Friends of the Big Sioux River to get their message out and bring people into the store and just foster a greater community,” said Silven.
Alongside Patagonia’s goal to create a more sustainable world, Great Outdoor Store aims to make Sioux Falls a more environmentally conscious city. By hosting events like its sustainability night, Great Outdoor Store plants a seed of sustainability in the Sioux Falls community.
“I think [we are] just trying to share brand awareness. Sharing with our community what our brands are doing to put their best foot forward for the environment, and also expanding our community, because, you know, we are a big outdoor store, but there are lots of different people that come from Friends of the Big Sioux River and Building Sustainable Connections that have those connections. We are just kind of trying to build a broader community and a bigger and better one at that,” said Skylar Dejong, assistant manager of Great Outdoor Store.
For the employees of the Great Outdoor Store, sustainability is more than a surface-level implementation. Sustainability is a personal element in their day-to-day lives. Dejong applies sustainable practices to his life with the hopes of creating a better world for future generations.
“Sustainability is a practice of putting the environment first and foremost and doing the best I can to make sure it is better for the next person in line. For future generations to come, making sure that I get to go out and see these beautiful forests and native deserts and wild animals and being able to say that my grandchildren and their grandchildren will be able to see the exact same things if not something cooler,” said Dejong.
For students still in high school, it is important to implement sustainable practices now so that the effects of sustainability can be seen in the future. Buying from brands like Patagonia can help make that positive environmental impact many hope to see.
“I love hearing about how younger generations are really starting to prioritize quality in product over quantity which I think is a really good and everyday way to live more sustainably, meaning there may be a product or a pair of pants that may be more expensive but it is going to last you, as a consumer, twice, three times as long as something from a fast fashion brand,” said Silven.
