Jill Dumain of Patagonia

In this episode of On Paper, Dumain explains how Patagonia, a leading producer of quality outdoor clothing, uses business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Through participation in numerous organizations and industry efforts, Patagonia has collaborated with suppliers and competitors alike, to minimize the potential impact their worldwide supply chain and production practices could have on the earth.

“We realize our company is much smaller than the people we have the potential to influence,” explains Dumain. “We have to influence companies larger than us if we are going to reach that ultimate goal.”

As a founding member of the Organic Exchange, a business-to-business effort to stabilize the organic fiber market, Patagonia helped balance fiber supply with demand and as a result the Exchange is now examining the broader topic of sustainable textiles. And through participation in the Outdoor Industry Association’s Eco-Working Group, Patagonia is helping to develop an eco-index for consumer products which will help outdoor companies, both large and small, measure where they are on the environmental impact scale, in turn offering guidance to make informed decisions regarding the production of their goods.

It is experiences like these, Dumain shares with On Paper, that have shown other companies the benefit of sharing environmental research, even with competitors.

“We can work behind the scenes and share this information, that really is pre-competitive, and still compete on the merits of our design, durability, color, style,” Dumain explains. “It’s very powerful because it takes a lot of time to do environmental research and work. If you can share that with colleagues in other companies, everybody moves ahead so much faster.”

Jill Dumain attended the University of California at Davis and majored in Textiles and Clothing. The studies at Davis included textile science, marketing and production courses. Upon graduation, she began working in the Fabric Laboratory at Patagonia testing and analyzing the technical fabrics in the line. Two years later, she moved into Fabric Development to work on the development of Patagonia's natural fiber fabrics. This is the position that led into the environmental emphasis of her job especially the organic cotton project which she has continued to lead since 1994. From 1997-2003, she held the position Director of Fabric Development overseeing all material development for the company. She was promoted to Director of Environmental Analysis in 2003 and helped lead the development of the Common Threads Garment Recycling Program and The Footprint Chronicles website. Jill was elected as Chair of the Board of the Organic Exchange in September 2006 and served through 2009. She has now accepted the Chair position for the Eco-Working Group in the Outdoor Industry Association. Her position has evolved into Director of Environmental Strategy with her current collaborative projects. Throughout her tenure at Patagonia, she has traveled extensively through Asia, Europe and the United States visiting fabric manufacturers and interfacing with other companies committed to environmental responsibility.

A graduate of the Ivy League's Columbia University, Maureen Kedes spent several years as a freelance public relations and advertising writer, and as spokesperson for several major corporations including: Toshiba, Yamaha, Sharp Electronics, Con Agra Foods, and Oxford University Press. Ms. Kedes also worked as a Test Marketing Director at CBS Television and also recently served as Sr. VP of Public Relations at Fortune Broadcasting in West Hollywood.