Patagonia is a staple brand in the outdoor and camping world. The company was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 in Ventura, California, where it is still headquartered today. Chouinard worked on his own selling gear until 1965, when he partnered with Tom Frost to turn Patagonia into the brand it is today. While rooted in rock climbing, Patagonia has branched out to several other sports and activities over the years. They are best known for their outdoor clothing, such as fleeces, pants, and rain jackets, but have also expanded into other camping gear, including sleeping bags, packs, and other essentials. They were founded in California, but are any of their products still made in the USA? We dug in to find out. Our verdict is below.
Verdict: Is Patagonia Made in the USA?
No, the majority of Patagonia products are not made in the USA. They produce their clothing and gear in over 40 factories across 16 countries, most notably in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and China. They manufacture some products in the United States, but this accounts for only a small percentage of their overall business (more on that below).
Obviously, this is disappointing to hear, but not surprising. While there has been a recent domestic resurgence, the American clothing industry has largely outsourced manufacturing to overseas factories over the past several decades. Over half of Patagonia’s sales are international, so their justification for international manufacturing is that it helps reduce their transportation carbon footprint by having facilities closer to their customers. In addition to being very environmentally friendly, Patagonia is known for its other activism efforts.
We appreciate that Patagonia is very transparent on its site about where each of its products is made. As you can see in the screenshot below, the country of origin is clearly labeled in the specs for every product.
Since that information is available on all their product pages, we analyzed their entire online store to see the country of origin for each product. Across 1,123 products in their store, only 3.12% are made in the USA. Here is a complete breakdown:
- Vietnam – 40.69%
- Sri Lanka – 16.03%
- China – 13.09%
- Thailand – 7.21%
- Mexico – 5.16%
- Colombia – 3.29%
- USA – 3.12%
- The Philippines – 2.05%
- El Salvador – 1.87%
- Bangladesh – 1.60%
- Canada – 1.60%
- India – 1.51%
- Hong Kong – 0.98%
- Nicaragua – 0.80%
- Not Specified – 0.62%
- Taiwan – 0.09%
- South Korea – 0.09%
- Spain – 0.09%
- Portugal – 0.09%
Below are some of their most popular products, along with a breakdown of which are made in America vs. manufactured overseas.
Popular American Made Patagonia Products
- Men’s Text Logo Organic Cotton T-Shirt
- Lightweight Merino Daily Crew Socks
- Men’s and Women’s Steel Forge Denim Pants
- Patagonia Logo Disc
Popular Patagonia Products Not Made in the USA
- Women’s Nine Trails Pack – Philippines
- Black Hole Duffel Bags and Packs – Vietnam
- 850 Down Sleeping Bag – China
- Men’s and Women’s Sunshade Technical Hoody – Vietnam
- Men’s Baggies Shorts – Nicaragua
- Women’s Baggies Shorts – Vietnam
- Men’s Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Sri Lanka
- Men’s Stand Up Shorts – Sri Lanka
- Men’s and Women’s Better Sweater 1/4-Zip Fleece – Thailand
- Women’s Capilene Cool Trail Tank Top – Vietnam
- Women’s Nano Puff Jacket – Vietnam
American Made Alternatives
- Jackets made in America
- Shorts made in America
- Pants made in America
- Beanies made in America
- Tents made in America
- Sleeping bags made in America
- Backpacks made in America
