My dad got me thinking when he challenged: What books have you read in your life that changed you? After reading them, nothing seemed the same– they smashed a paradigm, twirled around your perspective, opened your eyes and made everything clear.
So now I have to think, what books are on my impact list? I’m not entirely certain I know yet.
The first one I can think of–I just read it, actually– is called Let My People Go Surfing. It is not really about surfing, and I wouldn’t even say you need to be outdoorsy to appreciate this book. You don’t even have to like the ocean. It is about creating a company, specifically about how Yvon Chouinard created Patagonia not just to create profit or even to make a good product– their bottom line was to do good in the world, to make positive change through every process that the company underwent.
He still works to maintain the core reasons why his company was started in the first place: to produce high quality, innovative products for outdoor activities that they themselves would want to use. And what better way to know if your customers are satisfied than if you are your own customer?
Not only does he strive for the best quality, but also for the least environmentally damaging means of producing everything. They set a trend to switch over to organic cotton, and work to treat employees ethically and keep to their own high environmental standards every step of the way: from manufacturing to transport to lifetime of the product.
Everyone should read this book. Even if you aren’t going to start a business, my guess is you are a consumer, and you should know the reasons why seeking out products from social justice-minded companies is worth it, and necessary for the survival of our planet, and our humanity.
The “Environmental Philosophies” chapter at the back is particularly memorable, because it goes into detail about all the chemicals and harm that every single product produces, often times with carcinogens involved. There are so many environmental and health reasons to work towards natural everything, not using harsh chemicals to treat clothes or to make fancy packaging. It’s not worth it in the long run, and this book will help you see and think long term of your consequences. Everyone should read this book, because our planet should matter to all of us.
So that’s why this is the first book on my Impact List. I encourage you to make your own Impact List, because I’m sure it’s incredible to share books that changed you. Those are the books truly worth reading, and I’d love to read other’s Impact List books as well!
tadpole 