Oct 30, 2025 · 58 min · 14 segments
When Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard first got into business, all he wanted to do was make better equipment for himself and his fellow “dirtbags.” Over 50 years, he built Patagonia into a global…
David GellesGuest
Kara SwisherHostIt is on.
Um, but you write in the intro to your book that researching Patagonia was an opportunity to test your conviction that business can be a force for good.
Do you still hold that to be true? And if so, what are some of your favorite examples of large businesses that are forces for good outside of Patagonia?
Well, I mean, I think the operative word there is can, right? It's not as if (laughs), uh, every business is a force for good.
I think every business, maybe almost every business, let's set aside cigarette makers and weapons manufacturers, has the opportunity to be a force for good in all sorts of different ways, whether it's with their people, in their communities, with the environment, by making great products and services.
But what I've discovered in the course of being, you know, a business reporter for more than 20 years now, is that few and far between are the companies that actually understand that to be a part of their mission and make a really deliberate, consistent effort to do so.
And what are the other examples besides Patagonia? Well, I can rattle off lots of companies that I think have tried over the years, but it's a really select few that I think can claim to have succeeded for as long as Patagonia, imperfect as it is.
Tell me some who have tried and failed, and some who, just a few, just rattle off a few-
It is on.
Um, but you write in the intro to your book that researching Patagonia was an opportunity to test your conviction that business can be a force for good.
Do you still hold that to be true? And if so, what are some of your favorite examples of large businesses that are forces for good outside of Patagonia?
Well, I mean, I think the operative word there is can, right? It's not as if (laughs), uh, every business is a force for good.
I think every business, maybe almost every business, let's set aside cigarette makers and weapons manufacturers, has the opportunity to be a force for good in all sorts of different ways, whether it's with their people, in their communities, with the environment, by making great products and services.
But what I've discovered in the course of being, you know, a business reporter for more than 20 years now, is that few and far between are the companies that actually understand that to be a part of their mission and make a really deliberate, consistent effort to do so.
And what are the other examples besides Patagonia? Well, I can rattle off lots of companies that I think have tried over the years, but it's a really select few that I think can claim to have succeeded for as long as Patagonia, imperfect as it is.
Tell me some who have tried and failed, and some who, just a few, just rattle off a few-
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