Yvon Chouinard Gives Away Patagonia

Nearly 50 years since founder Yvon Chouinard began his experiment in responsible business, Patagonia announces new ownership. Effective immediately, the Chouinard family has transferred all ownership of the iconic outdoor brand worth $3 billion to two new entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, meaning that every dollar not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet.

The Patagonia Purpose Trust now owns all the voting stock of the company (two percent of the total stock) and exists to create a more permanent legal structure to enshrine Patagonia’s purpose and values. It will help ensure that there is never deviation from the intent of the founder and to facilitate what the company continues to do best: demonstrate as a for-profit business that capitalism can work for the planet.

The Holdfast Collective owns all the nonvoting stock (98 percent of the total stock), and it will use every dollar received from Patagonia to protect nature and biodiversity, support thriving communities and fight the environmental crisis. Each year, profits that are not reinvested back into the business will be distributed by Patagonia as a dividend to the Holdfast Collective to help fight the climate crisis. The company projects that it will pay out an annual dividend of roughly $100 million, depending on the health of the business.

The company shared the news first with its employees in a global town hall event on September 14, 2022. Soon after, the website Patagonia.com was updated to state that Earth is now our only shareholder and to include a letter from founder Yvon Chouinard.

‘The current system of capitalism has made its gains at an enormous cost, including increasing inequality and wide scale uncompensated environmental damage. The world is literally on fire,’ says Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson who sits on Patagonia’s Board of Directors. ‘Companies that create the next model of capitalism through deep commitment to purpose will attract more investment, better employees, and deeper customer loyalty. They are the future of business if we want to build a better world, and that future starts with what Yvon is doing now.’