Who Owns Patagonia?

Yvon Chouinard began forging climbing hardware in the late 1950s, selling pitons from his car in Yosemite Valley. He founded Chouinard Equipment in 1965 to manufacture climbing gear, and the company gained a reputation for quality among serious climbers. In 1972, Chouinard and climbing partner Tom Frost published the Clean Climbing Manifesto in the Chouinard Equipment catalog, advocating for removable climbing protection over pitons that scarred rock faces. Pitons represented 70 percent of Chouinard's sales at the time, making the stance commercially risky but environmentally principled.

Patagonia was founded in 1973 as a clothing division of Chouinard's business, initially producing rugby shirts and other apparel for climbers. The name was inspired by the Patagonia region of South America, which Chouinard had visited on climbing expeditions. The company introduced its first catalog in 1973 and began producing technical outdoor apparel using materials like polyurethane-coated nylon and later Gore-Tex.

In the 1980s, Patagonia expanded its product line and distribution. The company began publishing detailed catalogs with essays on environmental issues, building a brand identity that combined technical performance with environmental advocacy. Revenue grew from approximately $20 million in 1980 to over $100 million by 1990.

The company faced a crisis in 1991 when the recession reduced demand for premium outdoor gear. Chouinard laid off 20 percent of the workforce, an experience he later cited as formative in shaping Patagonia's approach to growth and hiring. The company recovered and continued expanding through the 1990s and 2000s, opening retail stores globally and building a significant e-commerce business.

Chouinard Equipment, the climbing hardware division, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 due to product liability lawsuits. A group of employees led by Peter Metcalf purchased the assets and formed Black Diamond Equipment, which relocated to Salt Lake City. Patagonia continued as a separate apparel company under Chouinard's ownership.

Patagonia became a founding member of 1% for the Planet in 2002, committing to donate 1 percent of annual sales to environmental causes. The company became a certified B Corporation in 2012. In 2017, Patagonia sued the Trump administration over its reduction of Bears Ears National Monument, a case that drew national attention to the brand's environmental activism.

The most significant development in Patagonia's corporate history came in September 2022, when Chouinard transferred ownership to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. The announcement, made via the company website and a New York Times op-ed, stated that "Earth is now our only shareholder." The structure was designed to preserve the company's environmental mission while maintaining its for-profit operating model.

In November 2025, Patagonia published its first Impact Report, the Work in Progress Report 2025, covering fiscal year 2025 (May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025). The report disclosed $1.47 billion in revenue and detailed the company's environmental initiatives, supply chain emissions, and Holdfast Collective grantmaking.