Beyond the jumbled ice masses of the Torre Glacier, Cerro Torre unveils itself. Argentine Patagonia. MIKEY SCHAEFER
$20 MILLION & CHANGE A NEW INVESTMENT FROM PATAGONIA’S FUND AND HOLDING COMPANY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Economic growth for the past two centuries has been tied to an ever-spiraling carbon bonfire. Believing that business—and human—success in the next 100 years will have to come from working with nature rather than using it up, we created $20 Million & Change to help like-minded responsible companies bring about positive benefit to the environment. In May 2013, we launched the fund and reorganized Patagonia and our other businesses within a new holding company called Patagonia Works, which is dedicated to a single cause: using business to help solve the environmental crisis. We put the word out there, inviting businesses to apply for funding, and received more than 400 queries and proposals. Phil Graves joined the Patagonia Works team in February from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. As the new director of corporate development, he is evaluating investment proposals and helps to decide where $20 Million & Change money will go.
Our latest investment has direct application to our own supply chain. We have others in the pipeline and remain primarily interested in business opportunities pertaining to food, water, energy, waste and apparel.
CO2NEXUS, INC. This company, based in Littleton, Colorado, develops and sells carbon dioxide-based cleaning, pre-conditioning and re-conditioning solutions for fabric and textiles that are environmentally friendly, people friendly and fabric friendly. CO2 is non-toxic, non-hazardous, non-flammable, odorless, inexhaustible and inexpensive. It uses zero water, consumes less energy and generates very little waste. Direct partnership opportunities include installing one of the company’s CO2 machines in our Reno Service Center to clean customer garments and co-developing advanced water repellency for garments, raw down and textiles. patagoniaworks.com
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