Privately held since 1973, the Patagonia brand has announced plans to donate all profits not reinvested back into the company to environmental and sustainability projects.
In a move that would surprise many small business owners and excite others, Yvon Chouinard, the founder and majority owner of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, has just relinquished his multi-billion dollar company Patagonia to planet Earth. Like many business owners as they get older, Chouinard, 83, was faced with a dilemma: what to do with his business. Instead of selling it, going public or passing it on to his heirs, he decided to donate the entire company to two trusts - one to run the company and one to receive the profits - to ensure that all of the company's profits would go to for projects related to the protection of the planet Earth. In doing so, he created a unique business concept.
Patagonia is one of the leaders in the leisurewear market, but it has always had a unique and different approach to business. For example, it is one of the few companies that provides lifetime guarantees for certain products. The clothes are produced with the highest sustainability standards and certificates. It is also one of the few companies that is quite radical in its changes to its sustainability strategies. So they started using organic cotton overnight, also by investing in the supply chain and improving the production itself.
"Half a century has passed since we started experimenting with responsible business. If we have any hope of a thriving planet 50 years from now, it requires us to do the best we can with the resources we have. As the business leader I never wanted to be, I'm doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and turning it into wealth, we use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the resource. Earth will become our sole shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.”
patagonia.com
