Patagonia, Inc.

What is Patagonia, Inc.?
Patagonia, Inc. is a privately held American outdoor apparel company founded in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard in Ventura, California. The company designs, manufactures, and sells technical clothing and gear for outdoor activities. Since September 2022, it is owned by the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, which direct all excess profits to environmental causes. Patagonia reported $1.47 billion in FY2025 revenue.

Who owns Patagonia, Inc.?
Patagonia is owned by the Patagonia Purpose Trust (2 percent of voting stock) and the Holdfast Collective (98 percent of non-voting stock). Founder Yvon Chouinard and his family created this structure in September 2022. The trust protects the company's mission, while the collective receives all profits not reinvested in the business for environmental grantmaking.

Is Patagonia publicly traded?
No. Patagonia is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange. Founder Yvon Chouinard structured the 2022 ownership transfer to avoid an IPO, stating that public markets would pressure the company to prioritize shareholder returns over its environmental mission. All shares are held by the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective.

How much revenue does Patagonia generate?
Patagonia reported $1.47 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025, which ended April 30, 2025. This was the first publicly disclosed revenue figure, revealed in the November 2025 Work in Progress Report. U.S. sales accounted for 61 percent of revenue, with international sales at 39 percent.

What is the Holdfast Collective?
The Holdfast Collective is a collection of five nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations that receive Patagonia's excess profits. Created in August 2022, it has received $180 million from Patagonia through April 2025. The collective has made over 2,000 grants across 22 countries, funding conservation and climate action. The five trusts are Holdfast Trust, Chalten Trust, The Wilder Trust, Tailwind Trust, and Sojourner Trust.

Is Patagonia a B Corporation?
Yes. Patagonia has been a certified B Corporation since 2012. B Corp certification requires companies to meet verified standards for social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. Patagonia is also a founding member of 1% for the Planet, established in 2002.

Where is Patagonia headquartered?
Patagonia is headquartered in Ventura, California, USA, where the company has been based since its founding in 1973. The headquarters houses design, marketing, environmental programs, and corporate leadership. Additional offices operate in Amsterdam, Tokyo, and other locations to support international business.

Yvon Chouinard began forging climbing pitons in the late 1950s, selling them from his car in Yosemite Valley. He founded Chouinard Equipment in 1965 to manufacture climbing hardware, and the company became known for quality among serious climbers. In 1972, Chouinard and Tom Frost published the Clean Climbing Manifesto, advocating for removable climbing protection over pitons that damaged rock. Pitons represented 70 percent of Chouinard's sales at the time.

Patagonia was founded in 1973 as a clothing division, initially producing rugby shirts and technical apparel for climbers. The company introduced its first catalog in 1973 and began using materials like polyurethane-coated nylon and Gore-Tex. Revenue grew steadily through the 1970s as the brand gained recognition among outdoor enthusiasts.

In the 1980s, Patagonia expanded its product line and retail presence. The company began publishing catalogs with environmental essays, 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 significant crisis in 1991 when recession reduced demand for premium outdoor gear. Chouinard laid off 20 percent of the workforce, an experience he cited as formative in shaping Patagonia's approach to growth. The company recovered and continued expanding through the 1990s, opening retail stores internationally.

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 co-founded 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, drawing national attention to the brand's activism.

The defining moment in Patagonia's corporate history came in September 2022. Chouinard transferred ownership to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, announcing 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. Chouinard chose this path over selling the company or taking it public, citing concerns that either alternative would compromise the environmental mission.

Between September 2022 and April 2025, Patagonia paid $180 million to the Holdfast Collective. The collective made over 2,000 grants across 22 countries, totaling over $115 million. In 2024, Patagonia sent approximately $63.3 million to the Holdfast Trust and roughly $16.5 million to four other trusts, totaling approximately $80 million in annual distributions.

In November 2025, Patagonia published the Work in Progress Report 2025, its first comprehensive impact report. The document disclosed $1.47 billion in FY2025 revenue, supply chain emissions data, and detailed information about the Holdfast Collective's grantmaking activities.

Patagonia is a certified B Corporation, meeting verified standards for social and environmental performance. The company has been certified since 2012 and is a founding member of 1% for the Planet, established in 2002. Patagonia has donated over $240 million to environmental organizations since 1985.

The 2022 ownership transfer to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective formalized the company's environmental mission. All profits not reinvested in the business flow to the Holdfast Collective for environmental grantmaking. Between September 2022 and April 2025, $180 million was distributed to the collective, which made over 2,000 grants across 22 countries.

Patagonia uses recycled materials, organic cotton, and Fair Trade Certified factories in its supply chain. The Worn Wear program repairs and resells used garments, extending product lifecycles. The company publishes environmental and social responsibility reports and discloses its supplier list.

The company's primary environmental challenge is supply chain emissions. The majority of Patagonia's carbon footprint comes from independent contractor factories employing 90,000 workers, over which the company has limited direct control. The Work in Progress Report 2025 disclosed supply chain emissions data for the first time.

• B Corporation Certification: Certified since 2012, meeting standards for social and environmental performance.
• 1% for the Planet Founding Member: Co-founded in 2002, donating over $240 million to environmental groups.
• UN Champion of the Earth (2019): Received the United Nations Environment Programme award for entrepreneurial vision.
• Fast Company Most Innovative Companies: Appeared multiple times for sustainability and supply chain innovation.

Patagonia has faced criticism over supply chain labor conditions despite its environmental reputation. Advocacy groups have documented wage and overtime issues at contracted factories in Asia. The company responds through its Fair Trade Certified factory program and third-party social audits, though structural pressure on supplier pricing complicates living-wage enforcement.

The company's environmental activism has drawn political backlash. Patagonia's 2017 lawsuit against the Trump administration over Bears Ears National Monument was criticized by some political figures as corporate overreach. The company has not retreated from its activist stance.

In 2024, questions emerged about the Holdfast Collective's grantmaking pace. Tax filings showed the collective received approximately $80 million from Patagonia but distributed roughly $40.7 million in grants that year. The gap drew scrutiny from nonprofit watchdogs, though the collective stated it was building capacity for larger future commitments.