Patagonia will open a retail store in a historic building in Boulder, Colorado’s downtown pedestrian Pearl Street Mall next spring. The 2,961-square-foot store at 1212 Pearl Street will be Patagonia’s 24th retail location and its second in Colorado, joining a store in downtown Denver 30 miles away.


The building dates to 1875 and was restored to resemble its original appearance by local developers Paul Eklund and Thomas Thorpe earlier this year. The first-floor retail space housed the Bergheim family clothing store for three generations until 1964 and then was occupied by a succession of retailers, most recently Science Artworks.


The choice of city and storefront reflects Patagonia’s emphasis on situating retail outlets in geographic areas with an active outdoor lifestyle and in buildings with historical value. The company’s interest in repurposing older structures is an extension of its commitment to encouraging sustainable development through efforts such as garment recycling and a grant program that has given 1% of Patagonia sales to environmental groups since 1985.


“Boulder has been on our roadmap for a long time because of the community’s strong outdoor orientation and environmental awareness. That means local residents will appreciate both our products and our corporate culture,“ said Robert Cohen, Vice President of Patagonia’s North American Retail Division. “We already have a large concentration of customers in the Boulder area from our Internet and mail-order businesses, so we know the market is a good fit for what we have to offer.“


The store will carry a wide selection of Patagonia-branded outdoor clothing, technical apparel, footwear and children’s clothing. Items will range from layering systems to keep wearers warm and dry to specific products for sports such as rock climbing, skiing, fly fishing and paddling.


All cotton items are 100% organic cotton to avoid causing environmental damage from toxic chemicals used in growing conventional cotton. The company also has been using fleece made from post-consumer recycled plastic soda bottles since 1993, and earlier this year became the first clothing manufacturer to recycle competitors’ garments as well as its own through a program that accepts worn-out fleece, organic cotton t-shirts and Capilene (long underwear) products. The donated garments are recycled into new fibers to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


Patagonia products are also through select retail dealers and through the company’s website as well as through Patagonia retail stores.