Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert says there's a lot of fear in the business community right now
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Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert and the company's chief impact officer Corley Kenna at Axios House in New York; Screenshot: Axios
"It's a hell of a target-rich environment right now," for leaders who are unafraid to speak up on political and environmental issues, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said Tuesday at an Axios House event during NYC Climate Week.
Why it matters: A lot of U.S. business leaders are afraid of triggering the Trump administration's wrath, but the Patagonia CEO is continuing in the company's tradition of speaking up on environmental and social issues.
Where it stands: "I think there's a lot of fear across the business sector," Gellert told Axios' Eleanor Hawkins on Tuesday afternoon.
- He cited a new survey from the United Nations Global Compact that found that while 88% of CEOs believe the business case for sustainability is stronger than five years ago, only 50% are comfortable talking about anything they're doing around the issue.
- "That's a huge problem," Gellert said.
- Many are pulling back on public statements about the topic.
State of play: Earlier in the day, President Trump told the UN General Assembly that climate change was the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world."
- Not a take that aligns with Patagonia's long-standing environmental stance.
The big picture: The outdoor apparel company is one of the most high-profile progressive companies in the country — with a clear environmental agenda and long-admired policies on work-family balance, even providing on-site child care.
- Patagonia was founded by Yvon Chouinard, a lifelong rock climber so uncomfortable with his wealth that he pushed to get himself removed from the Forbes billionaire list.
- In 2022, the 86-year-old essentially gave the company away — transferring ownership to a trust and a nonprofit organization.
Zoom out: Unlike many other CEOs, Gellert hasn't been shy about calling out the Trump administration — most recently over its public land use policies.
- "The Trump administration's actions — firing park and forest rangers, cutting funding, gutting protections and now putting up public lands for housing development — risk dismantling and destroying the places we've loved for generations," he wrote in a letter to the Wall Street Journal in March.
On Tuesday, he noted that many were relieved after a public land provision was dropped from Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that passed into law this summer. But that doesn't mean the threat has faded.
- "Evil never sleeps," he said. "This is all day, all the time. I feel like our public lands, access to them and resources on them are under constant threat."
Flashback: In 2017, Patagonia saw an uptick in sales after filing a lawsuit against Trump. However, Gellert on Tuesday cautioned about drawing a causal link.
- "Suing the president is not a great strategy," he said.
The bottom line: "We think to meet the challenge of this time we've got to use our money, we've got to use our voice, and any other resources we have available as a business."
- For now, no litigation is planned.
