Patagonia’s bold move is an example to fashion moguls everywhere.

In rare and surprising news for the sustainable fashion movement, outdoor clothing brand Patagonia announced a groundbreaking decision this week. The brand’s founder, 83-year-old Yvonne Chouinard, is donating his $3 billion company to two environmental organizations. Chouinard in A press release Released this week.

This means 98 percent of Patagonia’s shares will go to the newly formed Holdfast Collective, which invests in the protection of nature, biodiversity and communities. All shares will be non-voting, meaning the joint venture will have no say in how Patagonia is run. The remaining 2 percent goes to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, managed by members of the Chouinard family, to ensure that the brand lives up to the mission and values ​​it established 50 years ago. The family, which previously made about $100 million in profits each year, will not get the money.

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Patagonia has long been a charitable business; He was an early supporter of the B-Corp movement, and the founder helped establish it. 1% for the planet In the year in 2002, but a move on this scale had never been made before in the clothing business. Instead of going public or selling the business and donating the profits — which would have left the family out of control of Patagonia’s future — Chouinard came up with an entirely new solution. “Instead of ‘going public’, you can say ‘we are going for a purpose'” in the statement. “Instead of extracting value from nature and turning it into wealth for investors, we use the wealth that Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.”

Chouinard’s decision makes perfect sense for Patagonia, as protecting nature has always been part of the brand’s DNA. Chouinard is self-described. “Existing Garbage Bag” One who never wanted to be a businessman let alone a billionaire in the first place. He drives an old Subaru and has no phone or computer, according to him New York Times. As far as billionaires go, he is a genius by all accounts.

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However, the decision seems significant because it shows unusual dedication to a cause. In an industry where greenwashing, viable sustainability and climate targets are either unattainable or unattainable, rejection of the status quo is growing. That same week, Kourtney Kardashian Barker released her “Sustainable” collection with fast fashion brand Boohoo (yes, the same Boohoo that was caught paying £3.50 an hour to garment workers throughout the Leicester epidemic). Encouragingly, the critique of this problematic (in more ways than one) collaboration is loud and clear. The crowd was enough.

There is no shortage of billionaires who have made their fortunes in fashion. As of 2011 2022 Forbes Billionaires ListThe global industry has produced some 250 billionaires and Chouinard’s commitment to the environment will no doubt attract their attention. The question is, will they follow suit?