Event Details

Innovation and Ethics - Yvon Chouinard

Yvon Chouinard is founder and owner of Patagonia, a maker of environmentally conscious, high-performance outdoor apparel. A leader in corporate social responsibility, Chouinard capitalized on his company’s success in the late 1980s to tackle the looming environmental crisis. He instituted the Patagonia Earth Tax, which pledges 1 percent of company sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. And in 2001 he helped start One Percent For The Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales to approved environmental organizations. Chouinard, who began in business by designing, manufacturing, and distributing rock climbing equipment, is also the author of Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. A reception and poster display will precede the lecture at 7:00 p.m. in the Oak Room. Part of the National Affairs Series and the Iowa State University Symposium on Sustainability. Yvon Chouinard began in business by designing, manufacturing, and distributing rock climbing equipment in the late 1950s. His improved ice axe is the basis for modern ice axe design. In 1964 he produced his first mail-order catalog, a one-page, mimeographed sheet with advice not to expect fast delivery during climbing season. For a full company history, go to Patagonia: Our History. A Word - An Essay by Yvon Chouinard & Tom Frost October, 1974 Our Roots - Clean Climbing When this essay first saw print in the Chouinard Equipment catalog of October 1974, it was both surprising and revolutionary. Here was a company that made climbing hardware advocating a more pure, equipment-light approach to the sport. Why? Because popular climbing areas were being defaced by the constant pounding of pitons, and the overuse of gear only detracted from the real challenge — the climb. Such an argument could have hurt sales, but it didn't, because climbers saw that it was the right thing to do. Since then, Patagonia has taken many such stands in favor of the environment and the purity of sport. Cosponsored By: Council on Sustainability National Affairs Recreation Services Committee on Lectures (funded by GSB)

Lectures Program, 2582 Memorial Union, 50011-1130
Phone (515) 294-9934,

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