Ventura, CA. Patagonia, Inc., a designer and distributor of technical outdoor clothing, announces today the selection of Bart Bonime as the company’s Director – Fishing, responsible for Patagonia’s Fishing division. As such, he will be responsible for product, marketing, and sales strategies for this celebrated product line, both in the U.S. and overseas.
Bonime, a long-time fly fishing and outdoor industry veteran, comes to Patagonia from his post as Vice-President of Vast International, USA, based in Portland, OR. He also served as a Vice-President at Redington LLC, an apparel leader in the fly fishing market, and is founder and former President of Go Fish Corporation, one of the country’s largest outdoor T-shirt and accessories distributors. Bart spent close to ten years at Columbia Sportswear leading their hunting and fishing merchandising efforts, as well as heading up their advertising and promotions efforts.
Described by many as a premiere resource on current fishing markets and a highly creative developer of product, Bart is passionate about the fine art of fly fishing. “Patagonia is well-positioned to bring great quality products to a growing market,” said Bonime in a recent interview from his office at Patagonia’s Ventura headquarters. “I am particularly excited about the opportunities presented to us internationally, and the contribution Patagonia’s fly fishing line can make towards the company’s overall commitment to environmental responsibility.”
Bonime expects to spend much of his time in the field, testing and evaluating current and new product endeavors. There is strong commitment by the company towards the line’s success, especially from Patagonia’s owner and founder, Yvon Chouinard. “Yvon is spending a great deal of his time fly fishing around the world these days,” said Damien Huang, Patagonia’s Vice-President of Design and Merchandising. “He is looking forward to having Bart join him on many of those adventures.”
Patagonia, with sales last year of $315M, is noted internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism. Its Environmental Grants Program has contributed over $34M to grassroots environmental activists since the program began in 1985, and its Environmental Internship Program allows employees to work for environmental groups while receiving their full paycheck. Incorporating environmental responsibility in to product development, the company has, since 1996, used only organically-grown cotton in its clothing line, and its most recent launch of synthetic fiber-to-fiber recycling – taking back its worn-out clothing and reincarnating it as new products, forever capturing the petroleum used in making virgin fiber. Known for a unique corporate culture, the company has been recognized for many years by Working Mother magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers,” and is a regular recipient of recognition by Fortune and Human Resources Management magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America. ”
