ESSAY

IMAGINE A WORLD…

CAMPBELL BREWER BOTH PHOTOS / YVON CHOUINARD

...where all profit-making companies left their profits to not-for-profit organisations. What might sound rather utopian at first has now become a reality thanks to outdoor brand Patagonia, who are concentrating on preserving our planet rather than filling their own coffers. Could this move be ushering in a new and better era?

TEXT DENIZ TROSDORFF

TOM FROST PHOTO / YVON CHOUINARD In his natural habitat: Yvon Chouinard as a young man

PATAGONIA FOUNDER YVON CHOUINARD — ESSAY

Inever wanted to be a businessman” reads the first line of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s open letter on the brand’s website. It’s a strong introduction to the rest of the powerful message that follows. The news that Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has decided to donate his multi-billion-dollar company, which he established 50 years ago, to non-profit foundations instead of taking it public, came as a bombshell to all industries and sectors. Patagonia is now a symbol of a profit-oriented company demonstrating that capitalism can also work in favour of our planet. The company from California, estimated by the New York Times to be worth around three billion US dollars, is currently anticipating an annual dividend of around 100 million dollars, which, instead of being paid out to shareholders, will be donated to organisations committed to preserving our planet. Many people are comparing Yvon Chouinard to a modern-day, ‘green’ Robin Hood. But others claim it’s just a clever marketing ploy by the company, despite the opening words of the Patagonia founder’s letter. After all, at the end of the day he is a successful entrepreneur who has spent the past 50 years shaping the strong brand we know today. Clever greenwashing or wellmeaning intentions? A closer look at the history of Chouinard and Patagonia shows that he may be a smart businessman, but he also has a history of continually applying his business acumen to protecting the environment – way before most other companies even started grappling with the topic, and certainly never to that extent.

AN ATTEMPT AT A CONCLUSION

A smart marketing tool or a long-cherished dream? Maybe this is simply the wrong question to ask when it comes to the recent Patagonia revelations. Instead, maybe we should be asking why even more companies geared to profit aren’t doing the same? It certainly wouldn’t solve all the problems or the damage already done to the environment in one fell swoop, because a large portion of change needs to come from society at large and the measures put in place by governments. But using capital as a valuable tool to initiate radical changes that will sustainably and positively influence our world is an interesting and fruitful way to improve the situation while, at the same time, also questioning your own intentions. It’s a step that Patagonia has already taken, and which (hopefully) will also inspire others or, as Chouinard says: “It’s been a half-century since we began our experiment in responsible business. If we have any hope of a thriving planet 50 years from now, it demands all of us doing all we can with the resources we have. As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source. We’re making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.”