Patagonia and Environmentalism
Chouinard is most noted for the clothing and gear company, Patagonia. In 1970 on a trip to Scotland, he purchased some rugby shirts and sold them with great success. From this small start, the Patagonia company developed a wide selection of rugged technical clothing.
Recognizing that the financial success of the company provided the opportunity to also achieve personal goals, Chouinard committed the company to being an outstanding place to work, and to be an important resource for environmental activism. In 1984, Patagonia opened an on-site cafeteria offering "healthy, mostly vegetarian food," and started providing on-site child care. In 1986, Chouinard committed the company to "tithing" for environmental activism, committing one percent of sales or ten percent of profits, whichever is the greater. The commitment included paying employees working on local environmental projects so they could commit their efforts full-time.
The 1972 Chouinard catalog was influential in ushering-in the "clean climbing" movement in North America. It was more a collection of essays than a catalog, per se. Piton damage all but ceased.
In the early 1990s, an environmental audit of Patagonia revealed the surprising result that cotton was the worst product for the environment. In 1994, Chouinard committed the company to using all pesticide-free cotton, and this demand created the organic cotton industry in California.
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