Outdoor clothing company Patagonia made headlines last year when it announced that Planet Earth “is now our only shareholder”.
If that sounds somewhat confusing, the actual detail behind the statement revealed what the firm meant.
The founder and former owner of the California-based business – Yvon Chouinard – had decided to transfer 98% of the company’s shares to a new environmental organisation called the Holdfast Collective.
Every year Holdfast will receive all the profits that Patagonia doesn’t need to reinvest, to “protect nature and biodiversity” and “fight the environmental crisis”. The amount of money is expected to be more than $100m (£78m) every 12 months.
Meanwhile, the other 2% of the retailer’s shares were transferred to a new trust, called the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which now runs the company, and – as the firm says – guides its environmental and philanthropic principals.
Yvon Chouinard, who led Patagonia for 50 years, is now 84 years old. He and his family decided on the new business structure and cash giveaway as he stepped back from being in the company’s driving seat.
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