Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, an American retailer company of outdoor clothing, is donating the entire business he started some 50 years ago in an effort to fight climate change.
All corporate revenues will be donated to initiatives and groups working to combat the climate crisis, protect biodiversity, and protect wild lands. Along with Mr Chouinard, his wife and two adult children are also donating their stake in the apparel company to the noble cause.
According to the New York Times, the company is valued at roughly $3 billion.
With the title "Earth is now our only shareholder," Mr Chouinard penned a letter explaining his decision. The letter was posted on the Patagonia website on Wednesday.
Explaining the severity of climate change, he wrote, "If we have any hope of a thriving planet—much less a business—it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. This is what we can do."
He said, "While we're doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it's not enough. We needed to find a way to put more money into fighting the crisis while keeping the company's values intact. One option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money. But we couldn't be sure a new owner would maintain our values or keep our team of people around the world employed. Another path was to take the company public. What a disaster that would have been. 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,”.
"Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own," he added.
The privately held company announced in a statement that a trust focused on addressing climate change and a collection of nonprofit organisations, known as the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, will now own its stock.
The company added, "Funding for the Collective will come from Patagonia: Each year, excess profits—money we make after reinvesting in the business (including money we want to save for unforeseen events, like a pandemic)—will be distributed as a dividend to the Collective to be used for its work."
The firm's current turnover is $100 million and according to NYT report, it plans to donate the entire amount every year.
The business now offers new and pre-owned outdoor clothing, equipment for outdoor pursuits like camping, fishing, and climbing, as well as food and drinks derived from sustainable sources.
