Patagonia founder gives away the $3bn company to environmental causes: ‘Earth is now our only shareholder’
The IndependentSign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors,” Mr Chouinard wrote in a public letter, “we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.” The company’s voting stock will go to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which will “protect the company’s values”. Yvon Chouinard seen in a video by Patagonia to announce his decision to give the company to an environmental trust and non-profit “I never wanted to be a businessman,” he wrote. “I started as a craftsman, making climbing gear for my friends and myself, then got into apparel.” In recent years, especially during the Trump administration, the company’s activist role has become much more prominent. In 2002, Chouinard and Patagonia were one of the co-founders of “1% for the Planet”, a collective of corporations that donate 1 per cent of their sales to environmental causes.
History of this topic
Will Patagonia founder’s plan to give away brand to fight climate crisis be enough?
The Independent
Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard gives company away to save planet
Al Jazeera
Patagonia made him a billionaire. Now he’s giving it away to save the climate
LA TimesDiscover Related
)
