Reaching new heights

FOUNDER OF OUTDOOR CLOTHING BRAND SELLS COMPANY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

"Earth is now our only shareholder", said Yvon Chouinard, rock climber and founder of one of the world's most successful outdoor clothing and sports gear brands, Patagonia, as he announced this week that he has given away his company to a charitable trust in order to help fight climate change.

Known for his lifelong love of the environment, his company, founded in 1973 has always been a pioneer in terms of its ethics, sustainability and the way it treats its employees. Using materials that cause the least harm to the environment, giving away 1% of sales each year, and giving staff afternoons off on good surf days, it's also famous for its 2011 advertisement, 'Don't buy this jacket' which asked shoppers to consider its costs to the environment and subsequent annual campaigns asking people to buy only what they need. Prices have always been relatively high, with the cost reflecting the fact that its clothes are meant to last a lifetime.

Yvon Chouinard said that the new arrangement meant that any profit not reinvested in running the business would go to supporting environmental measures and campaigning which he estimated this would amount to around $100m (£87m) a year, if the company remains in good health. (It had an estimated revenue of $1.5bn (£1.3bn) this year.) And he hopes it will influence a new form of capitalism.

"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." He said.

In an open letter on his company website, Yvon added, "If we have any hope of a thriving planet - much less a business - it is going to take all of us doing what we can, with the resources we have. This is what we can do ...We're in business to save our home planet. Despite its immensity, the Earth's resources are not infinite, and it's clear we've exceeded its limits. But it's also resilient. We can save our planet if we commit to it."