The founder of Patagonia transfers ownership of the company to two entities to help combat the climate crisis

( Business) — The founder of Patagonia will transfer ownership of the company after almost 50 years to two entities that will help fight the climate crisis.

Patagonia is a private company based in Ventura, California, that sells clothing and equipment for outdoor activities. Yvon Chouinard founded the company in 1973.

patagonia said in a press release on Wednesday that, effective immediately, Chouinard and his family will transfer their entire shareholding to two newly created entities. Those entities will ensure that the company’s values ​​continue to be upheld and that Patagonia’s profits are used to combat climate change.

“If we have any hope of a prosperous planet 50 years from now, it requires that we all do our best with the resources we have,” Chouinard said in a statement Wednesday. “Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth that Patagonia creates to protect the source.”

The majority of the company, or 98% of Patagonia’s shares, will now be under the Holdfast Collective. This non-profit organization will ensure that the company’s annual profits, around US$100 million per year, are used to “protect nature and biodiversity, support prosperous communities and combat the environmental crisis”.

The rest of the company’s shares will finance the newly created Patagonia Purpose Trust.

This trust will create a permanent legal structure so that the company can never deviate from Chouinard’s vision: that a for-profit company can work for the planet.

“Two years ago, the Chouinard family challenged some of us to develop a new structure with two core goals,” Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said in the press release. “They wanted us to protect the purpose of the business and immediately and perpetually free up more funds to combat the environmental crisis. We believe this new structure delivers on both and hope it inspires a new way of doing business that puts people and planet first.”

Patagonia has long been known as a conservation company and has been outspoken about hot topics outside of its stores over the years. Patagonia’s corporate activism is a big part of its brand identity.

In 2017, the company sued then-President Donald Trump over his administration’s decision to slash two national parks in Utah.

“The president stole your land,” Patagonia’s website said at the time. “This is the largest removal of protected land in US history.”

The company has emerged as one of the most vocal corporate opponents of Trump’s environmental policies.

Last year, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert called on companies to join the brand in pressuring Facebook to fix its platforms, and the company donated $1 million to voting rights groups in Georgia.

– ‘s Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report