At a time when companies are getting highly competitive to climb up the revenue and profitability ladder, a clothing retailer company is doing the rounds of the internet for a recent announcement.
The founder of the American retailer of outdoor clothing Patagonia based in Ventura, California, Yvon Chouinard has announced to give away the billion dollar worth company to a trust, which will use the profit from the giant to fight the climate crisis.
The 83-year old billionaire, known for his environmental stances, made an announcement last week to give away his $3 billion-worth outdoor clothing company to a trust and a non-profit organization.
Yvon Chouinard Gives Patagonia to NPO & Trust
In an effort to give more to the environment, the Founder of Patagonia, which has hundreds of stores in over 10 countries across 5 continents, Yvon Chouinard announced on Wednesday to give away his company to a trust, which would utilise the money for doing their part in protecting the environment.
As per New York Times, there was no need for the billionaire to give the company to a trust or NPO. He could have sold it off or taken it public.
Instead, Chouinard announced to transfer his family’s (he, his wife and their two children) ownership of the company to a trust in charge of ensuring the brand’s environmental values are respected, as per reports.
The voting stock of the company shall be transferred to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the non-voting stock to the Holdfast Collective, a non-profit that fights against the environmental crisis.
In a open letter written by the billionaire founder, as posted on Wednesday, it was written,
“Each year, the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis…Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.”
The NYT report states that Patagonia will continue operating as a private, for-profit corporation but the Chouinard family will no longer control it.
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