Patagonia NZ

To further turn capitalism on its head, Yvon Chouinard donated the entire company to a trust that ensures every dollar not reinvested into Patagonia goes toward protecting the planet.

Responsible business means giving back. We donated all our sales from Black Friday—a record $10 million—directly to grassroots nonprofits working to protect the planet.

On Black Friday of 2011, we placed an ad in The New York Times telling people, “Don’t Buy This Jacket” to encourage customers to think twice before they buy and to consume less.

Created by Yvon Chouinard and Craig Mathews, 1% for the Planet members donate at least 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations, with $870 million raised to date.

After seeing the damage caused by conventional cotton farming near our Ventura headquarters, we committed to converting to 100% organic cotton, a goal we achieved by 1996.

We’ve always felt that providing on-site child care for working families is at the heart of being a responsible business, and have been offering it to our employees for over 40 years.

Patagonia grew out of a small company that made tools for climbers, and those values—minimalism, quality gear and a dedication to the natural world—have guided us ever since.