Surveys consistently ranked Patagonia as one of the most reputable brands in America,

not just for its outdoor clothing and gear, but also for being good environmental stewards.

That comes from its iconoclastic founder, Yvonne Chouinard.

When he retired, he didn't cash out by selling the billion dollar company.

He transferred it to a trust that uses Patagonia's profits

to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land.

The story of both the company and its founder

is told in a new book, Dirtbag billionaire,

how Avon Shinard built Patagonia, made a fortune, and gave it all away.

Earlier, I spoke with the author, David Gellis, a reporter on the New York Times climate team.

I asked him to explain the book's title.

Well, a lot of people hear the title and think I must not have liked the guy, but quite to the

contrary.

Ivan Channard himself actually calls himself a dirtbag. In the climbing community

that he came from, a dirtbag is actually a term of endearment. It refers to someone who's so

unenamored with materialism that they're content to sleep in the dirt. But when he heard the title

of the book, he actually didn't like it. Not

because of the word dirtbag, but because of the word billionaire. He never wanted to be known

as a billionaire. Not only that, but he said he never wanted a company. He never wanted to be a

businessman. And so, of course, he ends up running a billion dollar company. How did that happen?

This is the great paradox at the heart of Yvonne-Shanard's story and of the company, Patagonia. This is a man who grew up despising businessmen, who grew up loathing corporate America.

And yet, nevertheless, he wound up running a company with more than a billion dollars in annual sales.

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