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The founder of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia has given up ownership of the company to help fight climate change. Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia in the early ‘70s and built it into a multi-billion dollar globally recognized brand. Now after nearly 50 years, he’s is giving up control of Patagonia and has directed all future profits be used to fight the climate crisis.
In a news release posted to the company’s website, Chouinard says that Patagonia was already focused on saving the planet, having committed 1% of annual sales to the environment, but they wanted to put more money into the fight. And they wanted to do it without sacrificing the company’s values, which would be out of their control if they sold the company or took it public. So the best option was to place Patagonia in a trust and guarantee that the company’s values would be intact and all future profits would go toward fighting climate change.
The Chouinard family will still be a part of the company, serving on Patagonia’s board of directors and heading the trust. It’s estimated that Patagonia will be able to generate $100-million each year to help in the fight against climate change.
Source: Today