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Outdoor clothing company Patagonia announced Wednesday that all of its profits will now be donated to fight climate change.
The founder, Yvon Chouinard, and his family, are giving up their ownership in the name of “reimagining capitalism.” Its annual funds and $3 billion worth will be put into a special trust and given to a nonprofit organization to ensure profits are funding the environment.
“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,” Chouinard wrote in a statement on the Patagonia website.
The statement explained that their choice for a trust came due to the high risk of corruption when it comes to genuine efforts towards fighting climate change.
“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,” Chouinard added.
Patagonia has long been a strong proponent of fighting climate change. The Southern California-based company, which was founded in 1973, led a boycott in 2017 of the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City because the Utah state legislature sought to transfer federal lands to the state.
Patagonia has also committed to renewable energy and “switched to using only organically grown cotton” for all its products in 1996.
Patagonia’s moves have come as many companies have drawn criticism for “greenwashing” — a form of misleading advertising that involves claims of policies and products that are eco-friendly.
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