WATCH: ‘Shitthropocene’ – The New Patagonia Film That Questions if We Really Need All That

In a world where green and ‘eco’ messaging seem par for the course, Patagonia manages to keep adding value to the conversation.

I just finished watching a short film about overconsumption that was produced by outdoor brand Patagonia.

Shitthropocene is about stuff and how we simply have too much of it. It’s not quite a mockumentary, but it definitely has a lot of (slightly unhinged) fun with the documentary style.

The premise of the title is that we’re entering a new epoch. One defined by copious amounts of low-quality shit. It’s a play on another regularly proposed name for a ‘modern’ geological epoch, one brought on by human impact on the planet: the Anthropocene.

Unfortunately, that name has been rejected too, probably by the same nerds who think Pluto isn’t a planet anymore (I still believe). We’re actually in the Holocene, by the way, which translates to ‘entirely recent’. It began 11,700 years ago, after the last major ice age, and has only had holograms for like 50 years.

An-y-way, Shitthropocene is a riot, and it’s a good thing too because if you think too hard about it you’ll probably cry.

With a satirical anthropological take it talks through Patagonia’s well-known approach to quality, but dives much deeper into the challenges that come with making products that are actually durable, repairable, and created on a socially and environmentally-responsible supply chain.

There’s a long-running story about some dodgy fishing waders and the efforts to make them last, as well as a pretty candid discussion of the challenges of keeping slave labour out of the supply chain.

But it’s interspersed with fantastical reenactments of dancing cavemen, French aristocrats, and hyped-up TikTokers, as well as some hilarious fake ads for Patagonia itself. Louise Porter’s narration in a thick British accent delivers loads of dry humour too, lending an Idiocracy vibe to the whole affair.

They just saw the fire emoji

One thing that stuck with me was a short section about greenwashing. Essentially, after describing how hard it was to know for sure how green, eco, or fair trade their products were, the film simply questions how other brands can seem so confident.

The implication is: they can’t. Just recently energy gel manufacturer Spring Energy was caught out for having less than half the advertised calories and carbohydrates in their products. It’s caused a big stir in the running community, but beyond that it’s really got me wondering – what can we trust? And is anyone checking this stuff?

Grateful we can trust Patagonia

I consider myself pretty well-versed in the ideas Patagonia throws around in Shitthropocene, yet I still learned a bunch from watching it, and enjoyed myself too. As someone who just this week learnt to sew (incredibly badly) so I could repair some ten year old thermals, it was a reminder that we all have a long way to go.

Check out Shitthropocene on YouTube and if you make it to the end, don’t forget to use promo code STEVE.