Mr. Chouinard - the man with the vision. (Photo: Matt Slaby/USN)
The 2009 list of America’s Best Leaders, issued by the U.S. News & World Report, was released today. I learned about it through Outside magazine. The list includes CEO and environmental leader Yvon Chouinard, known as a founder of Patagonia outdoors company and a cool guy. Chouinard also co-founded 1% for the Planet alliance of businesses.
“The reason I am in business is I want to protect what I love,” he says. “I used to spend 250 days a year sleeping on the ground. I’ve climbed on every continent. I’m old enough to have seen the destruction.”
He acknowledges that every product, no matter how much thought goes into it, has a destructive impact on Earth. Nothing, he says, is completely sustainable. “I avoid using that word as much as I can,” he says. Nonetheless, “I keep at it, because it’s the right thing to do.”
(U.S. News & World Report)
Patagonia’s sales in 2007 reached $270 million. Even with the recession Patagonia is on track to have its best year ever. They must be doing something right!
Read the whole story here.
Mr. Chouinard published the book “Let My People Go Surfing” in 2005.
Tags: business, chouinard, patagonia, planet, recession, surfing, sustainability, sustainable, yves
OxygenJunkie is a blog by the freelance journalist & outdoors lover Artturi Kröger.
Fantastic! Lifetime work as “anti-corporate man” is now paying off big-time as Chouinard is one of the most admired leaders and often quoted on magazines like Fortune, Fast Company, etc. I would buy more Patagonia if it would not be so damn expensive.
Yep, ” let my people go surfing ” has all the fundamentals.
Thanks for the comments, guys
Ransu, I’m quite happy with the Patagonia gear I have, and the warranty is quite excellent. They just sent back my (a couple of years old) insulated Puff Jacket, after repairing the zip and some other details, which I thought were failing too early. This kind of service makes Patagonia a good purchase even second hand, I dare to assume.
Sakke, I have had the Let My People Go Surfing for a good while, maybe it is about the time to put it on top of my reading list…