Patagonia shifts ownership, all profits to go to fight climate change

Driving the news: The Chouinard family said it has transferred 100% of its ownership to two new entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective.

• The company told Axios in an emailed statement that "every dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet."
• Patagonia Purpose Trust, which holds all voting power in the company, will provide a legal structure to help keep the company's values in place, the company said.
• "It will help ensure that there is never deviation from the intent of the founder and to facilitate what the company continues to do best: demonstrate as a for-profit business that capitalism can work for the planet," the company said.
• The new Holdfast Collective, which doesn't hold any voting stock, will look to help protect nature and the climate.
• Chouinard and the Chouinard family will remain on the board of Patagonia.

What they're saying: "Instead of 'going public,' you could say we’re 'going purpose,'" Chouinard wrote in a letter on the company's website.

• "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."

• "As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source."
• "We’re making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.”

The bottom line: Patagonia considered, and rejected the idea of a sale or IPO, as none guaranteed that its values could be upheld.

• "Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own."

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