Patagonia has long been revered by those in the industry who believe fashion can be a force for good. He took his vision of what a responsible business should look like a step further by donating an entire company believed to be worth £100 million.

“It’s been half a century since we started experimenting,” Chouinard, 83, said in a statement. We all need to do the best we can with the resources we have.As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part: extracting value from nature into wealth. Instead of changing, we are using the wealth that Patagonia creates to protect the source.Earth will be our sole shareholder.I am serious about saving this planet.”

Chouinard and his family transferred 98% of their holdings to a newly formed non-profit organization named Holdfast Collective. Do not reinvest in the company. His remaining 2% stake was transferred to a trust designed to ensure that the company remained true to its purpose and values.

Having achieved B-Corp status in 2012, the outdoor company continues to donate 1% of all sales to grassroots activists each year. The Holdfast Collective, on the other hand, will use all funds to “protect nature and biodiversity, support thriving communities, and combat environmental crises.”

Founded in 1973 in Ventura, California by former rock climber Chouinard, Patagonia has been an industry pioneer for the past 50 years and was the first to donate 10% of profits to grassroots groups working to relief or restoration.Brands that were never afraid to defy the grain used high-profile advertising to new york times On Black Friday 2011, with the tagline “Don’t buy this jacket.” Ahead of the 2020 election in the United States, Patagonia released shorts with tags that read, “Vote for those you don’t like.”