Yvon Chouinard never set out to become a businessman. He simply wanted to make the world a better place. Even today, outdoor equipment company Patagonia – the company Chouinard leads – is not as much a business as a vehicle for doing the things Chouinard finds important.

As he recently put it: “Patagonia is a private company, and the sole stockholders are me and my wife, so we can do anything we want.” One thing Chouinard and his wife wanted was to sustain a company that lived up to a strong moral code, which contributed to society and put environmental protection and conservation at the top of its list of priorities.

Chouinard founded Chouinard Equipment (the predecessor to Patagonia) in the late 1950s. He and his rock climbing buddies all loved the outdoors; hanging on to a steep rock face with the help of steel pitons was their way of being close to nature. He eventually learned that the pitons his company produced were damaging the rocks.

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