Patagonia began as a sideline to prop up a blacksmith’s gear business.
Yvon Chouinard taught himself blacksmithing and forged steel pitons by hand, two an hour, selling them to climbers for $1.50 each. But hammering them in and out scarred the rock permanently, so he switched to aluminum chocks. Then came the clothes. In 2022, Chouinard gave the $3 billion company away to fight climate change.
Patagonia on Brandseum