The founder and boss of Patagonia Yvon Chouinard announced on Wednesday that he is giving away his company to help fight climate change.
The outdoor fashion retailer company is now will be in the hands of a trust and a nonprofit organization. All the profits in the future will be donated to help fight climate change.
Mr. Chouinard said, “Despite its immensity, the Earth’s resources are not infinite, and it’s clear we have exceeded its limits.”
He said that Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source, we are making Earth our shareholder and I am dead serious about saving this planet.
Photo by: Jean-Marc Giboux
The billionaire outdoor fashion retailer company has been founded in 1973. It sells hiking and other outdoor clothing in over 10 countries. Its estimated revenue for this year was $1.5bn, while Mr. Chouinard’s net worth is thought to be $1.2bn.
Instead, his family has transferred all ownership to two new entities. The Patagonia Purpose Trust is led by the family.
The Patagonia Purpose Trust will control all the voting stock of the company by 2%, while the Holdfast Collective a U.S. charity dedicated to fighting the environmental crisis, will own all nonvoting stock of 98%.
One option was also to sell the company and donate the money, but he said he was concerned about the new owners might not hold the same values or keep the same employees.
The leadership of the company will not change and it will continue to give 1% of its earnings to grassroots environmental groups.
Chouinard’s son and daughter, Fletcher, and Claire, will continue to work for the company and will be responsible for overseeing the strategic decisions made by the Collective.
Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Marine biologist, who sits on Patagonia’s board, said businesses can’t continue to adhere to the prevailing economic model if the climate and nature crises are to be solved and social issues tackled. She challenged other companies to step up and end the creation of wealth for their shareholders, instead providing funding to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges.
Yvon Chouinard is not the first to give wealth away. Last year the founder of Hut Group Matthew Moulding, who owns a range of online beauty and nutrition brands, donated £100m to a charitable foundation after becoming a billionaire when his firm was listed.
Photo by: William A. Cotton
Yvon Chouinard was born on 9 November 1938. He is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist, and outdoor industry businessman. He founded Patagonia in 1973 which is known for its environmental focus. Yvon Chouinard’s father was a French-Canadian handyman, mechanic, and plumber.
Chouinard’s early climbing partners were Royal Robbins and Tom Frost. A Sierra Club member, in his youth he founded the Southern California Falconry Club, and it was his investigations of falcon aeries that led him to rock climbing. For saving money, and make adaptations for the way he was climbing, he decided to make his climbing tools, taught himself blacksmithing, and eventually started a business. He also is a surfer, kayaker, and falconer and is particularly fond of Ankara fly-fishing. He also has written about climbing issues and ethics and on mixing environmentalism and business.
He started selling climbing equipment such as pitons in 1957, usually out of his car. Then later he became an advocate of so-called “clean climbing” in which protective gear is placed and removed from rock walls so it does not cause damage from hammering pitons. And now Chouinard holds several patents, including one for aluminium climbing chocks designed to cause less destruction of rock.
