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The Future of the Responsible Company
What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years
Vincent Stanley and Yvon Chouinard’s book The Future of the Responsible Company reflects on the first fifty years of the outdoor retailer Patagonia.
Co-written by the company’s founder, the book looks at the purpose-driven California-based company, documenting how it goes beyond mere profit chasing with initiatives like supporting the restoration of the dead Ventura River and supporting a raptor rehabilitation center that nurses injured birds back to health. The recreational clothing retailer is presented as a shining example of what corporate America could be at a time when more young college graduates only want to work for virtuous employers who reflect their values.
Beyond the book’s self-mythologizing elements are candid insights: Patagonia’s publishing wing, an offshoot of a parent company that makes outdoor apparel and gear, helped the company to a much wider market. Thanks, in part, to such efforts, Patagonia rose from an organization made up of a few climbers and surfers into a revered global brand that clears more than a billion in annual revenue. And it does an impressive job of putting its progressive values to work: it was an early childcare adopter and donated 10% of profits to environmental causes.
Patagonia became a foundation-owned business in time; the book shows why that structure advances its values, noting such arrangements have been common in Europe for over a century. It also issues a call for other companies to do their part in saving the earth instead of despoiling it, sharing a clear template for social responsibility. Indeed, its appendixes include checklists for other companies looking to have a positive impact on the world.
The Future of the Responsible Company is rousing as it looks back at Patagonia’s history and considers what it means to be a responsible company in a climate-changing world.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
