Patagonia founder
Yvon Chouinard
is giving away the multibillion-dollar outdoor apparel business he founded nearly 50 years ago, with a goal of helping to fight climate change.
As opposed to taking the company public or selling it, Mr. Chouinard and his family are transferring ownership of Patagonia to a trust and a nonprofit organization, the founder said in a statement Wednesday.
“It’s been nearly 50 years since we began our experiment in responsible business, and we are just getting started,” said Mr. Chouinard, a world-class mountain climber who started importing rugby shirts and other apparel in the 1970s for his friends to wear. “If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a thriving business—50 years from now, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is another way we’ve found to do our part.”
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Do you think the Patagonia move will inspire more business owners to donate their companies to environmental and social causes? Join the conversation below.
Patagonia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company made a name for itself selling fleece jackets, board shorts and plaid shirts. The fleece vests in particular have developed a cult following from people who work in finance, while the company’s environmental- and social-conscious practices have earned dedicated buyers in other consumer spheres.
Patagonia will remain a for-profit business under the new arrangement and will continue to be run by chief executive
Ryan Gellert,
Mr. Chouinard said. The company will also continue donating 1% of its sales to environmental nonprofit groups, he said.
The trust, called the Patagonia Purpose Trust, will protect the company’s existing values and independence, Mr. Chouinard said. The nonprofit organization, called the Holdfast Collective, will be charged with taking the profits generated by Patagonia and using those funds to address climate change.
The Chouinard family will oversee leadership of the Patagonia Purpose Trust and will spearhead the philanthropic work of the Holdfast Collective. The family will also remain members of Patagonia’s board of directors.
Holdfast Collective owns 98% of the company and all of the nonvoting stock, which doesn’t give it decision-making authority. The Patagonia Purpose Trust owns 2% of the company and all of the voting stock.
Mr. Chouinard has said that he approaches leading his company as a sort of a road map for aspiring business owners.
“I never even wanted to be in business,” he said in a 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal. “But I hang onto Patagonia because it’s my resource to do something good. It’s a way to demonstrate that corporations can lead examined lives.”
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com and Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the September 15, 2022, print edition as ‘Patagonia Founder Is Giving Clothing Company Away.’
Patagonia founder
Yvon Chouinard
is giving away the multibillion-dollar outdoor apparel business he founded nearly 50 years ago, with a goal of helping to fight climate change.
As opposed to taking the company public or selling it, Mr. Chouinard and his family are transferring ownership of Patagonia to a trust and a nonprofit organization, the founder said in a statement Wednesday.
“It’s been nearly 50 years since we began our experiment in responsible business, and we are just getting started,” said Mr. Chouinard, a world-class mountain climber who started importing rugby shirts and other apparel in the 1970s for his friends to wear. “If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a thriving business—50 years from now, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is another way we’ve found to do our part.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you think the Patagonia move will inspire more business owners to donate their companies to environmental and social causes? Join the conversation below.
Patagonia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company made a name for itself selling fleece jackets, board shorts and plaid shirts. The fleece vests in particular have developed a cult following from people who work in finance, while the company’s environmental- and social-conscious practices have earned dedicated buyers in other consumer spheres.
Patagonia will remain a for-profit business under the new arrangement and will continue to be run by chief executive
Ryan Gellert,
Mr. Chouinard said. The company will also continue donating 1% of its sales to environmental nonprofit groups, he said.
The trust, called the Patagonia Purpose Trust, will protect the company’s existing values and independence, Mr. Chouinard said. The nonprofit organization, called the Holdfast Collective, will be charged with taking the profits generated by Patagonia and using those funds to address climate change.
The Chouinard family will oversee leadership of the Patagonia Purpose Trust and will spearhead the philanthropic work of the Holdfast Collective. The family will also remain members of Patagonia’s board of directors.
Holdfast Collective owns 98% of the company and all of the nonvoting stock, which doesn’t give it decision-making authority. The Patagonia Purpose Trust owns 2% of the company and all of the voting stock.
Mr. Chouinard has said that he approaches leading his company as a sort of a road map for aspiring business owners.
“I never even wanted to be in business,” he said in a 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal. “But I hang onto Patagonia because it’s my resource to do something good. It’s a way to demonstrate that corporations can lead examined lives.”
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com and Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the September 15, 2022, print edition as ‘Patagonia Founder Is Giving Clothing Company Away.’