Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has donated the clothing company to fight climate change, the founder announced yesterday. In an open letter, Chouinard writes about “reimagining capitalism,” and references the updated mission statement of Patagonia.
In 2018, the brand’s mission statement was changed to “We’re in business to save our home planet.” Patagonia has a value at about $3 billion. In addition, the company is privately owned. According to Chouinard, 100% of Patagonia’s voting stock will be transferred to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which was “created to protect the company’s values.”
On the other hand, 100% of its nonvoting stock has been moved to the Holdfast Collective. Holdfast is a nonprofit which dedicates itself “to fighting the environmental crisis and defending nature.”
From Patagonia’s $3 billion value, it will donate $100 million annually to fight the growing climate change crisis. However, Chouinard chose to donate the company itself rather than sell it or go public for multiple reasons
According to him, this is because he could never be sure if the hands he gave the company to would hold the same values that he and the company had prior. Additionally, Chouinard says “even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to create short-term gain at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility.”
The donation is official as of yesterday, per Patagonia’s socials.