--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These parks are our life's work, not the…" description: "\"These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need.\" — Douglas Tompkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg" --- # These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains… ![“These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need.” quote by Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg) > “These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need.” [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts essential environmental work with superficial consumerism, urging focus on preserving nature rather than unnecessary fashion. **In simple terms:** Prioritize protecting nature over buying excess clothes. Key Takeaway Choose conservation over consumer excess. Themes environment conservation consumerism values purpose Mood determined hopeful Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - activism - policy making - personal lifestyle choices - community projects - education campaigns Key Concepts ecology ethics sustainability Questions to Reflect On - How can you reduce waste in daily life? - What actions can you take to protect local parks? A Different Perspective Balancing personal needs with environmental responsibility can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Clothes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clothes/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“After all, you’ll be selling to people. You need to know how to reach them, interrupt them, and make a difference in their lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-croll/after-all-you-ll-be-selling-to-people-you-need-to-know-how-to-reach/) [Alistair Croll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-croll/) > [I think the thing about business is that it's not completely separate to life. You're selling to people so it's all about life skills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-meaden/i-think-the-thing-about-business-is-that-it-s-not-completely-separate/) [Deborah Meaden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-meaden/) > [Advertising gets such a bashing from the world. At parties you are always asked, 'Aren't you just selling people things they don't want?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/advertising-gets-such-a-bashing-from-the-world-at-parties-you-are/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [We had a huge audience, we sold truckloads of albums. If we do something that's cool, people will listen to it. If we don't,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-taylor/we-had-a-huge-audience-we-sold-truckloads-of-albums-if-we-do/) [Andy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-taylor/) > [I think there's two ways to make money online. One way is by selling other people's stuff, the other way is by selling your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-walker/i-think-there-s-two-ways-to-make-money-online-one-way-is-by-selling/) Jeffrey Walker > [Scarcity is a good sales tactic if you are selling something people want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/scarcity-is-a-good-sales-tactic-if-you-are-selling-something-people/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [I had been a fashion photographer for over ten years, but I'd always been dissatisfied with what I was doing. It was all about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-duley/i-had-been-a-fashion-photographer-for-over-ten-years-but-i-d-always/) [Giles Duley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-duley/) > [I am interested in communicating with the world by selling to many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miuccia-prada/i-am-interested-in-communicating-with-the-world-by-selling-to-many/) [Miuccia Prada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miuccia-prada/) > [Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/selling-to-people-who-actually-want-to-hear-from-you-is-more/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [It's absolutely fun to walk around and have people respect you. When Michael Jackson did Thriller, I was in the park one day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/it-s-absolutely-fun-to-walk-around-and-have-people-respect-you-when/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her. That would be awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/maybe-park-had-paralyzed-her-with-his-ninja-magic-his-vulcan-handhold/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I kind of pride myself on coming onto things that are well-oiled machines and finding a way to bring what I bring and fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-kind-of-pride-myself-on-coming-onto-things-that-are-well-oiled/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) ## More by Douglas Tompkins > [It doesn't seem to be worth wasting a lot of energy on attempting to rewrite the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/it-doesn-t-seem-to-be-worth-wasting-a-lot-of-energy-on-attempting-to/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [Every single national park had some component of private philanthropy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/every-single-national-park-had-some-component-of-private-philanthropy/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [The byproduct of the main thrust to protect the biodiversity of a given place is that you get especially young people out to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/the-byproduct-of-the-main-thrust-to-protect-the-biodiversity-of-a/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [I tell myself to hurry up, that I have to do everything before death catches me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/i-tell-myself-to-hurry-up-that-i-have-to-do-everything-before-death/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [If you're not willing to take the political heat, then you shouldn't get into the game of land conservation, especially on a large scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/if-you-re-not-willing-to-take-the-political-heat-then-you-shouldn-t/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [I don't think capitalism can survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/i-don-t-think-capitalism-can-survive/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [I don't have a cell phone because I know how horrible it is. Using your cell phone is like putting your head in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-because-i-know-how-horrible-it-is-using/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [Resource efficiency is the wrong metric. We should use nature as the measure, using nature's wisdom as a template for our economic systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/resource-efficiency-is-the-wrong-metric-we-should-use-nature-as-the/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [Despite my great disappointment in American foreign policy, I am very proud of the American tradition of wild land conservation. It is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/despite-my-great-disappointment-in-american-foreign-policy-i-am-very/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [For those of us (those that have the desire to explore the world unknown) that grew up going out into the wilds of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/for-those-of-us-those-that-have-the-desire-to-explore-the-world/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [Fashion is one of the most intellectually vacuous industries. We had to manufacture desires to get people to buy our products. We were selling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/fashion-is-one-of-the-most-intellectually-vacuous-industries-we-had/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [Once we establish an architectural style in each park, we stick with it religiously and comprehensively so that it comes out as a gestalt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/once-we-establish-an-architectural-style-in-each-park-we-stick-with/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [I just realized at least what I was doing was making a lot of stuff that nobody needed and pushing a consumerist society. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/i-just-realized-at-least-what-i-was-doing-was-making-a-lot-of-stuff/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [As we get sucked more and more into the technosphere, we become less and less capable of understanding it because it becomes a technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/as-we-get-sucked-more-and-more-into-the-technosphere-we-become-less/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) > [There's no doubt whatsoever that there's no future in capitalism. It's probably no more than 500 years old, and it's demonstrating over and over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/there-s-no-doubt-whatsoever-that-there-s-no-future-in-capitalism-it-s/) [Douglas Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) [Explore all 48 Douglas Tompkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/) ## More Chains quotes > [Unchecked, the new tolerance will sooner or later put many people in chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-a-carson/unchecked-the-new-tolerance-will-sooner-or-later-put-many-people-in/) [D. A. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I don't have a huge amount of gear, but on the software side, I have a number of plug-in chains that act as abstracted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/i-don-t-have-a-huge-amount-of-gear-but-on-the-software-side-i-have-a/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [We don't have a farm-to-table food safety system. I keep saying this. It came as a big surprise to the FDA that tomatoes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/we-don-t-have-a-farm-to-table-food-safety-system-i-keep-saying-this/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain - get in my belly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/i-m-bigger-than-you-i-m-higher-on-the-food-chain-get-in-my-belly/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The chains will fall off freely, no more worries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dl-watson/the-chains-will-fall-off-freely-no-more-worries/) DL WATSON > [I am ever mindful of the legacy of my grandfather, the founder of this Kingdom, who had said to me that he perceived his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-hussein-i/i-am-ever-mindful-of-the-legacy-of-my-grandfather-the-founder-of-this/) [King Hussein I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-hussein-i/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Man's ethics must not end with man, but should extend to the universe. He must regain the consciousness of the great Chain of Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/man-s-ethics-must-not-end-with-man-but-should-extend-to-the-universe/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [To sigh, yet feel no pain; To weep, yet scarce know why; To sport an hour with Beauty's chain, Then throw it idly by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/to-sigh-yet-feel-no-pain-to-weep-yet-scarce-know-why-to-sport-an-hour/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 1,639 Chains quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Tompkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the-clothing-chains-we-created/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chains" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the-clothing-chains-we-created/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/douglas-tompkins-14040_chains_these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the_2468997.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“These parks are our life's work, not the clothing chains we created, selling people clothes they don't need.” — Douglas Tompkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Douglas Tompkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-tompkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "These parks are our life's work,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the-clothing-chains-we-created/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-tompkins/these-parks-are-our-life-s-work-not-the-clothing-chains-we-created/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```