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Source: Ventura County Star, Calif.迷你倉Sept. 25--Can you imagine an economy not based on buying things? Could business success be measured in ways other than financial and economic growth?Perhaps, but not until someone asks the questions.Patagonia Inc. is doing just that as it embarks in an ambitious environmental education campaign.The Ventura outdoor clothing company, known for its strong environmental philosophies, announced Tuesday in New York City it will challenge the public to consider alternatives to a growth-based economy as part of its new educational campaign, The Responsible Economy, as it also looks back on 40 years as a business."We want to question the elephant in the room -- that growth automatically leads to prosperity, and happiness and human satisfaction," said Vincent Stanley, outgoing vice president of marketing for Patagonia, who attended Tuesday's event. "In the campaign, we're inviting leading thinkers and customers to explore what a responsible community would look like -- one that creates meaningful work and uses the resources more efficiently."The New York event also served as a birthday celebration, with Patagonia's director of environmental strategy, Jill Dumain, and Rick Ridgeway, vice president of environmental affairs, in attendance.Patagonia, named after a remote region bordering Chile and Argentina, has long tasked itself with sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. The company says it donates at least 1 percent of sales, or 10 percent of profits, to grass-roots environmental groups; uses organic cotton in its clothing; recycles polyester; and prints its catalogs on recycled paper.Each year since 1988, the company has used its yearly educational campaign to raise concerns and discuss issues such as water scarcity and pollution. But Patagonia says now it's time to address what the company sees as the root cause of those problems."The elephant (in the room) is growth-based capitalism, and the assumption that a growth economy equals prosperity and a healthy society," says an essay on its website describing The 文件倉esponsible Economy.A responsible economy, Patagonia says, is "one that cultivates healthy communities, creates meaningful work, and takes from the earth only what it can replenish," and not where indicators show our economy is headed.Businesses such as Patagonia can play a role in making this change happen, Stanley said. The marketing executive studies the topic in the book he recently wrote with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard called "The Responsible Company: What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 years.""Businesses are the engines of the economy, and we also have enormous political influence, and we also have enormous influence through the culture through our marketing," Stanley said.Through its new campaign, Patagonia will ask for public participation to get people thinking about what a responsible economy is and what responsible companies are. Its catalogs will have essays by leading thinkers on the topic, Stanley said. There will be social media campaigns on the topic, and the company will highlight efforts by organizations or people it feels represent a change in this direction.In turn, the company will invite people to respond with examples of what they think represents a responsible economy and who would be appropriate leaders, Stanley added.At least right away, the company won't serve as advocates for specific kinds of changes but will act more like a "clearinghouse" of information and resources, he said.As part of the campaign, Patagonia has recently begun an effort to invest $20 million in companies it considers as "engaged in activities that represent a more responsible economy," Stanley said.People can start by taking tangible actions to get things moving in that direction, he said."They can choose where to spend (money), make choices in their lives where they will work, and participate," Stanley said. "It's a change of thinking and then a change of behavior."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) Visit Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.) at .vcstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services存倉