Patagonia's CEO Slams EPA Rollbacks: Authentic Climate Leadership Is Good Business

In a headline-making move just hours ago, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert publicly condemned the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest deregulatory shift under Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Trump administration. Writing for Fortune, Gellert lambasted the rollback of climate regulations as “endangering Americas businesses,” describing the actions as performative, destabilizing, and ultimately serving only fossil fuel interests at the expense of long-term market stability, business resilience, and public health. Gellert’s no-nonsense stance directly called out the spike in corporate “greenhushing”—when firms fearfully minimize public climate action—and declared that, for Patagonia, climate leadership and decarbonization efforts are both good business and a core purpose, regardless of shifting winds in Washington. He urged business peers not to retreat but to double down on science-backed climate action, reinforcing that regulatory chaos only underscores the need for authentic leadership and global competitiveness. This message is already circulating widely on business-news platforms and social media, where it’s feeding another round of debate on corporate climate responsibility and government overreach.

Separately, stories have continued to highlight Patagonia’s unusual ownership model—namely, its 2022 move to hand ownership over to environmental trusts, with Yvon Chouinard still holding honorary influence but ceding day-to-day spotlight to Gellert. Those details again surfaced on a recent iHeart ESG Currents podcast, with analysts dissecting Patagonia’s reputation as the gold standard for aligning business with environmental values. The Fortune and iHeart stories both cast Patagonia as the face of a broader movement resisting political pressure to back off on ESG and climate goals.

Trending on fashion and lifestyle outlets over the weekend, Patagonia’s high-profile summer sale was a magnet for both loyalists and new converts. Baggies shorts, Nano Puff jackets, and other core pieces have been flying off digital shelves at discounts up to 40 percent, prompting plenty of Instagram chatter about the brand’s rare, deep markdowns and the company’s “rugged pieces as true long-term investments,” as Esquire put it. Meanwhile, Gear Patrol previewed an upcoming redesign of Patagonia’s iconic R1 Air Fleece, emphasizing new tailoring that promises better mobility and fit—news sure to please the outdoor faithful once styles hit stores post-August 1.

If there was a behind-the-scenes contradiction this week, it popped up in an interview with Gellert posted to Instagram, where he was grilled about the conflicting pressures at the heart of running a purpose-driven apparel giant: environmental ambitions versus the realities of manufacturing scale. The CEO’s candid commentary—as captured both in text and by viral TikTok snippets—has fueled another round of influencer and consumer debate about authenticity and the fine line between marketing and mission.

On the executive moves and business development side: there are no credible reports of C-suite changes, scandals, or acquisitions tied to Patagonia or its core apparel business this week. No evidence of major controversies or financial pivots. Notably, Patagonia Lithium, an unrelated entity, has announced a capital raise in South America, but this has no connection to the outdoor brand.

Overall, Patagonia’s week was defined by bold CEO advocacy, a high-profile sale, teaser product news, and ongoing scrutiny of its values-first playbook—solidifying its spot in the center of the climate and business conversation as deregulation dominates political headlines.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In a headline making move just hours ago, Patagomia CEO
Ryan Gellard publicly condemned the Environmental Protection Agency's latest deregulatory
shift under Administrator Lee Zelden and the Trump administration. Writing
for Fortune, Gellert lambasted the rollback of climate regulations as
endangering America's businesses, describing the actions as performative, destabilizing, and

(00:20):
ultimately serving only fossil fuel interests at the expense of
long term market stability, business resilience, and public health. Gellert's
no nonsense stance directly called out the spike in corporate
green hushing when ferns fearfully minimize public climate action, and
declared that for Patagonia, climate leadership and decarbonization efforts are
both good business and a core purpose, regardless of shifting

(00:44):
winds in Washington. He urged business peers not to retreat,
but to double down on science backed climate action, reinforcing
that regulatory chaos only underscores the need for authentic leadership
and global competitiveness. This message is already circulating widely on
business as hyphen news platforms and social media, where it's
feeding another round of debate on corporate climate responsibility and

(01:06):
government overreach. Separately, stories have continued to highlight Patagonia's unusual
ownership model, namely its twenty twenty two move to hand
ownership over to environmental trusts, with Jovon Chuinard still holding
honorary influence but seeding day to day spotlight to Gellart.
Those details again surfaced on a recent iHeart ESG Currents podcast,

(01:27):
with analysts dissecting Patagonia's reputation as the gold standard for
aligning business with environmental values. The Fortune and iHeart stories
both cast Patagonia as the face of a broader movement
resisting political pressure to back off on ESG and climate goals.
Trending on fashion and lifestyle outlets over the weekend, Patagonia's
high profile summer sale was a magnet for both loyalists

(01:47):
and new converts. Baggies, shorts, nanopuff jackets, and other core
pieces have been flying off digital shelves at discounts up
to forty percent, prompting plenty of Instagram chatter about the
brand's rare deep markdowns and the company's rugged pieces as
true long term investments, as Esquire put it. Meanwhile, gear
patrol previewed an upcoming redesign of Patagonia's iconic R one

(02:08):
air fleece, emphasizing new tailoring that promises better mobility and fit,
news sure to please the outdoor faithful once styles hit
stores post August first. If there was a behind the
scenes contradiction this week, it popped up in an interview
with Gellert posted to Instagram, where he was grilled about
the conflicting pressures at the heart of running a purpose
driven apparel giant environmental ambitions versus the realities of manufacturing scale.

(02:32):
The CEO's candid commentary, as captured both in text and
by viral TikTok snippets, has fueled another round of influencer
and consumer debate about authenticity and the fine line between
marketing and mission. On the executive moves and business development side,
there are no credible reports of C suite changes, scandals,
or acquisitions tied to Patagonia or its core apparel business

(02:55):
this week. No evidence of major controversies or financial pivots. Notably,
Agonia Lithium, an unrelated entity has announced to Capital Rays
in South America, but this has no connection to the
Outdoor brand. Overall, Patagonia's weak was defined by bold CEO advocacy,
a high profile sale teaser, product news, and ongoing scrutiny

(03:16):
of its values. First playbook, solidifying its spot in the
center of the climate and business conversation as deregulation dominates
political headlines. And that is it for today. Hit the
subscribe button and never miss an update on Patagonia. This
has been a quiet Please production. For more check out
Quiet Please dot ai or search the term brand biography

(03:38):
wherever you listen.