A few months ago, Patagonia—an American brand specialising in outdoor clothing—made headlines that shook the internet. The brand’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, announced he was giving away his $3 billion-valued company by transferring the ownership to a specially designed trust and a non-profit organisation, The Holdfast Collective, to help fight climate change. While the move was lauded, the reality is far from the truth. According to reports, including this article by Bloomberg, the deal is structured to help the billionaire and his family keep control of the company and avoid paying $700 million in taxes. It also helps Chouinard avoid the US estate and gift tax, including a 40 per cent levy on large fortunes when transferred to heirs.
While at a macro level, the idea behind the philanthropy of “giving away the maximum amount of money to people who are actively working on saving this planet” (as Chouinard stated in an interview with The New York Times) is noble, the world, especially the fashion industry, shouldn’t rely on billionaires and billion-dollar companies to fix the environmental crisis the industry has perpetuated.