Patagonia donates 1% of its sales to environmental causes.
The commitment began in 1985, when Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard helped create One Percent for the Planet. The initiative encourages businesses to contribute at least 1% of annual sales—not merely profits—to approved environmental organizations.
That distinction matters: “sales” means revenue before expenses, so the pledge is not the same as donating 1% of net income. Patagonia has also made exceptional contributions, including donating all of its Black Friday sales in 2016, which totaled $10 million.
The company’s environmental activism extends beyond donations. Patagonia promotes product repair, reuse, and recycling, and has used advertising to criticize the environmental costs of clothing production. The 1% figure is therefore a long-running baseline commitment, not a claim that every year’s environmental giving stops at exactly that amount.