Yvon Chouinard — climbing, surfer, author, Patagonia founder –spoke at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in October of 2006 about Patagonia’s business practices and environmental responsibility. Much of it comes from his book Let My People Go Surfing, but there are some interesting new points from the discussion.

• In the year between publishing the hard-cover edition and soft-cover edition, Patagonia’s transportation costs have risen so much that they are more expensive than the materials themselves. Shipping materials from China to Thailand to wherever will need to be altered.
• All Patagonia products will be made from recycled materials by 2010.

A few of his opinions are worth examining a bit more, but certainly refreshing to hear in a business school setting.

• He won’t make the products cheaper because he won’t compromise quality. An audience member asked about reducing consumption and Chouinard thinks his products quality reduces the need to buy so many pieces of clothing. Of course, he wears his jeans to the threads, but most people might need more hints.
• He believes his employee (volunteer run) grants program is much more efficient than many environmental foundations, but he only cites the distribution of money
• He believes green companies are some of the best companies to work for. Their mission means they’ll also treat their employees well.

You can listen, watch, or read more about the talk :

Article about the speech
Video of Yvon Chouinard at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Podcast of Yvon Chouinard at the Stanford Graduate School of Business

Tags: yvon chouinard, climber, business, let my people go surfing, patagonia