Yvon Chouinard, who became famous for alpine climbs in Yosemite and then as a manufacturer of outdoor gear, said in a note: “We’re making Earth our only shareholder.”
The founder of the outdoor brand Patagonia has relinquished his ownership in the business and directed its profits to fight climate change.
In a letter to customers, Chouinard said Patagonia is now owned by a trust that will determine the company’s direction and a new nonprofit group called the Holdfast Collective, which is dedicated to protecting nature and other environmental causes.“While we’re doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it’s not enough,” Chouinard wrote. “... Each year the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis.
In a question-and-answer section appended to Chouinard’s letter, the company said Patagonia continues to be a for-profit business as, a designation for companies that consider factors such as social and environmental impacts of their businesses. Denis Hayes, who coordinated the first Earth Day and later became the CEO of the environmentally focused Bullitt Foundation in Seattle, said Chouinard has long been a strident environmentalist willing to make bold moves and challenge convention. The Patagonia brand, Hayes noted, charges a premium, in part, because of the values it represents.
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