Outdoor clothing label Patagonia's billionaire owner, Yvon Chouinard, has given away the company to a non-profit and environmental trust.
The company will continue to make outdoor clothing, camping supplies and other goods, with all of its circa US$100mln profits each year to be used to fight climate change.
Announcing the decision to set up the Patagonia Purpose Trust, Chouinard, a rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire after founding the company in 1972, said he "never wanted to be a businessman".
The trust will own 2% of the company and ensure it maintains its commitment to corporate responsibility and donates its profits, with about 98% of its shares donated to the Holdfast Collective, the nonprofit organization that will receive all of the company’s profits.
"Now I could die tomorrow and the company is going to continue doing the right thing for the next 50 years, and I don’t have to be around," he wrote in an open letter.
He said 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."
Chouinard said he started as a craftsman, making climbing gear for friends, then got into clothing.
Having become aware of global warming and ecological destruction, and human contribution to these issues, Patagonia has long committed to bringing a change to business practices, including in its manufacturing processes, involvement in the circular economy and environmental donations.
"If we could do the right thing while making enough to pay the bills, we could influence customers and other businesses, and maybe change the system along the way."
Previously, Patagonia gave 1% of sales away every year, and in 2018 changed its mission to save the planet, but now, Chouinard has said it is "not enough".
Chouinard's net worth continued to rise as Patagonia's sales soared, creating a conundrum for someone who said he abhors excessive wealth.
"I was in Forbes magazine listed as a billionaire, which really, really pissed me off," he said. "I don’t have US$1bn in the bank. I don’t drive Lexuses."
Forbes' ranking, followed by two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, set in motion a process that ended with Chouinard and his family giving away the company.