Yvon Chouinard, his spouse and two adult children are giving away their ownership in the apparel maker he started some 50 years ago to help fight the climate crisis and protect wild land.
According to the New York Times, the company is worth around $3 billion.
The letter about the decision was published on the website of the company.
We need to do more to address the environmental crisis. While keeping the company's values intact, we needed to put more money into fighting the crisis. Selling and donating all the money was one option. We didn't know if a new owner would keep our values or keep us employed.
The company could be taken public. It would have been terrible. Public companies with good intentions are under a lot of pressure to create short-term gain.
There were no good choices. We made our own.
Every dollar that is not reinvested back into the company will be distributed as dividends, the company said in a statement.
The 2% of voting stock that the trust will get will be used to create a more permanent legal structure for the company. The family and close advisers will be in charge.
The non-voting stock of Patagonia is owned by the Holdfast Collective.
Depending on the health of the business, the company expects to generate and donate about 100 million dollars annually. The company sells new and used outdoor apparel, gear, and food and beverages from sustainable sources.
As a B-Corp and California Benefit Corporation, Patagonia donates one percent of its sales each year to grassroots activists. Around the world, fewer than 6000 companies are certified as B-Corp businesses. They need to meet strict environmental, social and governance standards in order to be certified.
The Chouinard family will remain on the board of the apparel maker. The company updated its website after telling its employees about the change.
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