Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, one of the most extraordinary brands in the corporate world, the rare company that is driven by environmental activism instead of cutthroat capitalism. Patagonia founded in 1973, a US clothing company trailing associations of rugged outdoor pursuits, posting sales of more than $1billion a year. Chouinard distrustful of capitalism, even as he engaged in it, investment bankers co-opted the garments into their uniforms, sometime wearing under their suit jackets or blazers. The company has distinguished itself as a singular beacon for socially responsible business, the rare company that can legitimately claim to be doing its damnedest to make the world a better place, while also raking in profit.  The outdoorman’s unlikely route into business was bashing out pitons to sell to fellow climbers. He soon realised he was contributing to the discarded ironmongery banged into Yosemite cliffs. He devised better alternatives. The clothing company sprang out of Chouinard’s climbing equipment venture, sought to create superior outdoor gear. His advert headlined “ Don’t Buy This Jacket”, which pushed up sales even as Patagonia attempted to discourage consumerism. From its early efforts to take exemplary care of its employees, to its extensive work trying to clean up its supply chain, to its controversial activism, Patagonia has set itself apart from its peers with one unorthodox decision after another, proving that there is another way to do capitalism.

At the heart of the story is Patagonia’s founder the legendary rock climber Yvon Chouinard (86), a perennial outsider who forged one of the most impressive resumes in the outdoor world, while establishing himself as a pivotal figure in the history of American business. Guided by his anti-authoritarian steak and his unwavering commitment to preserving the natural world, Patagonia came to exert a powerful influence on other companies, paving the way for a new era of social and environmental responsibility. He started out as a dirtbag- a term affectionately bestowed on poor, itinerant outdoorsmen so uninterested in material possessions they are happy to sleep in the dirt – and he became a billionaire. As a boss, he would disappear for months at a time on expeditions, often to the place that supplied his company’s name, Patagonia in South America, when he returned, he could be mean-spirited and fault-finding. In 2022, Yvon and Malinda Chouinard gave Patagonia away, by transferring their voting stock to a trust channelling all the company’s profits into good causes, becoming members of the tiny club of rich people determined to donate the bulk of their wealth that also includes Warren Buffett and Mackenzie Scott. 

Chouinard, an American of French-Canadian heritage, also proved that there was another way to be a philanthropist, He gave away Patagonia, in the twilight of his career, renouncing his wealth and committing all its future profits to fighting the climate crisis.

Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away by David Gelles, Text 12.99/ Simon & Schuster $30, 320 pages.