Let My People Go Surfing

The updated and revised tale of an itinerant climber and the education of a reluctant businessman. Sales from this book benefit 1% for the Planet.

“This is the story of an attempt to do more than change a single corporation—it is an attempt to challenge the culture of consumption that is at the heart of the global ecological crisis.”

—From the Foreword by Naomi Klein, author of the bestselling book This Changes Everything

"The original intent in 2005 for writing Let My People Go Surfing was for it to be a philosophical manual for the employees of Patagonia. I never expected at that time that this simple book would be translated into more than ten languages, be used in high schools and colleges and even be influential in large corporations. . . . We have always considered Patagonia an experiment in doing business in unconventional ways. None of us were certain it was going to be successful, but we did know that we were not interested in “doing business as usual.” Well, we have survived and even thrived for close to half a century. . . .

As the evils of society become stronger and more numerous, we recognize that as a larger and more influential company our responsibilities to society and our efforts to be an even more responsible company have also increased. The purpose of the revised edition of this book is to share what we have done in the last decade and what we plan to do in the decades ahead to achieve our goals."

--From the Preface to the Second Edition by Yvon Chouinard

“Three wonderful books rolled into one: a moving autobiography, the story of a unique business, and a detailed blueprint for hope.”

—Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“Yvon lays out the philosophies and practical actions of a company that has been a leader in the world of values-led business.”

—Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s