Patagonia Nonprofit Head Explains Why Its Owner Yvon Chouinar Gave Away the Company

Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard speaks onstage during the Tribeca X: A Day of Conversations Celebrating the Intersection of Entertainment and Advertising in 2019 in New York City. Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Tribeca XGreg Curtis first heard of a “purpose trust” back in 2017, when he was working as Patagonia’s assistant general counsel and keeping an eye out for company structures that might interest the company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard. “We were always looking for options for Yvon’s curiosity about what happens next when he’s not with us anymore,” said Curtis, who now heads Patagonia’s nonprofit arm, while speaking at SXSW on March 11.

By 2020, Chouinard’s discomfort with his ownership of the lucrative outdoor apparel brand was ramping up. While Patagonia has long used recycled materials and donated to environmental causes, Chouinard—an avid rock climber and surfer who founded the company in the 1970s—wanted to do more.