Rethinking shipping: What we learned from Let My People Go Surfing
Recently, we’ve been applying lessons from Patagonia and Yvon Chouinard’s book, Let My People Go Surfing. One key takeaway? The energy cost of transporting goods varies drastically depending on the method—rail, boat, truck, or air. The difference is staggering.
To put it into perspective, here’s how much energy it takes to move one ton of cargo per mile:
• Rail or boat: 400 BTUs
• Truck freight: 3,300 BTUs
• Air cargo: 21,670 BTUs
In simpler terms, shipping by air consumes 6.5 times more energy than ground transportation. Once we understood this, it became clear: unless absolutely necessary, air shipments should be avoided.
Cutting air shipments
As a first step, we removed air shipping options whenever ground transportation is available for the same route. This helps significantly reduce our energy footprint.
But that’s not enough.
We plan to be around for the next 50+ years, and sustainability requires more than just avoiding air shipments.
Carbon-neutral shipping
That’s why we’ve partnered with Planet to offset all carbon emissions from our deliveries. Every shipment’s footprint is calculated based on weight, shipping method, and distance traveled. We then neutralize these emissions by purchasing verified carbon removal credits from pioneering sustainability projects.
This is just one of the ways we’re ensuring that getting our products to you has a lighter impact on the planet.
