Patagonia founder donates entire company to fight against climate change

Yvon Chouinard, founder of the popular outdoorsy clothing and accessories brand, Patagonia, has announced that he’s donating his entire company to help fight against climate change.

Launched over 50 years ago, the company is now worth upwards of $3 billion and will be transferred over to a collective that will oversee that all non reinvested profits will be put to use as Chouinard intends.

In a statement published on the Patagonia website on Wednesday, Choiunard says:

“While we’re doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it’s not enough. We needed to find a way to put more money into fighting the crisis while keeping the company’s values intact. One option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money. But we couldn’t be sure a new owner would maintain our values or keep our team of people around the world employed.

Another path was to take the company public. What a disaster that would have been. Even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to create short-term gain at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility.

Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own.”

“Here’s how it works,” Choiunard continues in his statement, “100% of the company’s voting stock transfers to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, created to protect the company’s values; and 100% of the nonvoting stock had been given to the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature. The funding will come from Patagonia: Each year, the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis.”

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According to coverage of the announcement by CNBC, “As a certified B-Corp and California Benefit Corporation, Patagonia was already donating one percent of its sales each year to grassroots activists, and it intends to keep doing so.” 

The Chouinard family will remain on Patagonia’s board and Ryan Gellert will stay on as Patagonia’s CEO.