A company doesn’t last 100 years by chasing endless growth. Yvon Chouinard: We have to be cautious about growing too big. McKinsey: How has Patagonia navigated the tensions of being a responsible company while managing growth and profit in a consumerist context? Our success is based on quality in whatever we do, and we’re taking that into the future. I’m proud of our employees for getting us to this point. The average lifespan of a corporation currently is a little over 20 years, but we’re still here after five decades of doing things on our own terms.
Yvon Chouinard: Patagonia has time and again broken the rules of traditional business and proven we still can be successful. Looking back, what are the one or two moments you’re most proud of? McKinsey: You’re described yourself as a reluctant businessman, but it’s undeniable that you’ve also been a very successful one. The following is an edited version of Yvon’s and Tony’s conversation. Not only a mountaineer at heart, Chouinard is also a surfer, kayaker, falconer, tenkara fly-fisherman, author of his memoir, Let my people go surfing, and, in his own words, a reluctant businessman. These two entities ensure that all of Patagonia’s profits go toward combating climate change and protecting underdeveloped land across the world.
In 2022, Chouinard and his family transferred ownership of Patagonia to the newly created Patagonia Purpose Trust and the not-for-profit organization, Holdfast Collective. He is quoted as saying, “What we take, how and when we make, what we waste, is in fact a question of ethics,” a belief he has applied to Patagonia since its inception. In 1973, he started making and selling mountaineering gear when he noticed the equipment he was using was damaging rocks, and soon expanded into clothing. Yvon Chouinard, who is also an environmentalist, philanthropist, and adventurer, chatted to McKinsey’s Tony Hansen about the company, which has its roots in his love for the outdoors and mountaineering. Its mission statement, “We’re in business to save our home planet,” reflects its core values of quality, integrity, environmentalism, justice, and being unfettered by convention.
Patagonia chose to tackle this environmental footprint head on.
The clothing industry accounts for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions and wastewater.
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