Yvon Chouinard Gives Away His Company, Patagonia.

If it's as the headline says, then I respect the hell out of that.
 
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Having known and fished with Yvon for some 30 years seeing him make that choice is completely in character. The world would benefit greatly with more like him.
 
Curious if Yvon holds all the shares or if there are other investors who have a say in (or a share of) profits.

That’s the problem with more companies doing this even if they wanted to, most of them have sold a chunk of themselves to fund growth/founders-bank-acts/etc.
 
From the article it sounds like they held all the shares. 2% were voting stock which they donated to a trust to be overseen by family members and close advisors to ensure Patagonia runs a socially responsible business and gives away its profits. The other 98% of common shares they put into a non-profit organization which receives the company's profits and is to be used to fund climate change.
 
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I hope others following this example. Selfless giving makes the world a better place. Greed only makes it worse. To give and not know that you give at all is a trait to be admired.
 
I'm a po'boy and own a decent collection of Patogonia clothes. (let's see; seven button-down shirts, four short sleeve capelines, two hoodies, a heavy zip tee, full length hiking pants, board shorts, puffy anorak and zip parka.) Wow. I think I paid full retail for two of those items.

Call 'em what you will, their outdoor clothes perform well and last a long time, and their button down shirts are awesome.

Yvonne has always been a righteous dude and puts his money where his mouth is. I'm sure he and his heirs will be well set up for a long, long time.
 
To the folks that call it PataGucci, how do y'all feel about this now?

I feel the same. They used to make some great gear. Still decent stuff. Still worthy of the same monikers as follows.

Patagucci
Fratagucci
Fratagonia

Those who wear it Izod and Eddie Bauer, total throwbacks and known as Petazods. Generally have an ACA instructors badge on some piece of gear, likely a lifejacket that is horribly outdated and even though old as dirt still possessing more flotation than modern offerings. When new would float the Titanic to the surface if you had a sub powerful enough to drive it to depth. They likely still have a Protec helmet with a Salamander bill. Marvelous specimens. Of course all the above names and monikers come from a place of an underfunded jealous boater dirtbag who longed to afford a patagucci fleece outfit.

As far as Yvonne goes, he is doing what he believes is right and therefore living authentically. A positive trait and an artifact of character. I like authenticity and authentic people if I agree with them or not. I respect authenticity and character. So cheers to him and I hope he has a long fulfilling life with a bounty of happiness and satisfaction. He built something from the ground up, another trait I admire. Cheers to him.
 
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