Many consumer goods companies have environmental initiatives. Think of Dell’s e-waste recycling program , for example. Or P&G’s commitment to 100 percent renewable energy. Or the Chevy Volt , even.

But, as laudable as these are, you might argue they are secondary to a larger problem. All these companies still want us to buy more product. If a consumer goods company truly wanted to be sustainable, they might suggest that we consume a little less, or at least price their goods at a cost that reflects their true impact.

Which is a crazy idea, of course. What company would ask us to consume less of their things, and make their stuff deliberately more expensive?

We realized that what was really needed was a mutual responsibility between company and customer for the full lifecycle of stuff.

Patagonia, for one. The Californian apparel company, last month launched an initiative encouraging their customers to reduce, repair, reuse, and recycle their clothing and equipment. Their ad even features the line: “Reduce what you buy,” in bold caps, much like something out of an anti-capitalism rally.

“We realized that what was really needed was a mutual responsibility between

company and customer for the full lifecycle of stuff,” Rick Ridgeway, Patagonia’s environment VP. “So we would try reduce the amount of stuff that people buy, fixing products if they were broken, and asking people to clean out their garages and closets, so that if you have clothes you are no longer using, you put them back into circulation.”

As part of its Common Threads scheme, Patagonia offers to repair its clothes (for a “reasonable” fee) on a 10-day turnaround. It also will help you sell its clothes via an eBay channel or at Patagonia.com.

After it was launched at New York fashion week last month, some commentators described the initiative as an inspired piece marketing that would cement customer loyalty and reinforce the message that Patagonia apparel is long-lasting and worth holding onto.