What’s Changed at Patagonia Since the Founder Parted Ways With The Company?

You may recall last month, when Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard gave up the company in the name of the planet. The 83-year-old founder of the $3 billion company made the decision to designate "Earth" as the brand's sole shareholder.

This was, in part, to announce the company would be making some changes in the sustainability department. But what's changed sustainability-wise at Patagonia?

Following the big reveal on the company's new shareholder, Patagonia implied big changes were coming. However, Chouinard didn't elaborate at the time.

“Instead of ‘going public,’ you could say we’re ‘going purpose,’" Chouinard wrote after the entrepreneur announced his decision to leave the company. “Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth,” he continued.

But it seems as though Chouinard ultimately made the right decision — for his personal life, and for the sake of the company.

"I feel a big relief that I’ve put my life in order,” Chouinard also stated via The New York Times. “For us, this was the ideal solution... Now I could die tomorrow and the company is going to continue doing the right thing for the next 50 years, and I don’t have to be around."

Since Patagonia made its groundbreaking announcement, a lot has changed at the company — a spokesperson tells us most of the profits are going to the Holdfast Collective, which will spend it on protecting people and the environment.

"Patagonia’s new structure puts our environmental donations at a new, exponentially bigger level than with our previous ownership model did," they stated.

"Now that the Holdfast Collective gets our corporate dividend, rather than the Chouinard family, we are able to give significantly larger donations per year to environmental causes," they continued.

In terms of new materials and products, the brand has some innovative pieces coming in spring 2023. Additionally, the spokesperson tells us both the brand's iconic Down Sweater and Micro Puff collections will be made with Bureo NetPlus fabric, which is derived from discarded fishing nets.

Those looking to stay active in cool conditions can get excited for the upcoming release of the men's Nano Air Light Hybrid Hoody, as well as the women's Cross Strata. Both act as warm-yet-lightweight layers for those trekking through high altitudes, in the woods, or through varying climates, using the most hi-tech design possible.

They aren't available yet, but take a look at what you can expect to get in the photos, below.

The brand is also offering new repair kits for those interested in DIY Gear Repair. Fly fishers can get excited for the ultralight wading boots, which are considered to be the most advanced of their kind, and trail runners can find a new line of shorts in the women's department — definitely looking forward to that!