Newsletter

Corporate impact jobs + news go together like finance bros and Patagonia vests. Time to get fleeced.

Read Time:

4 min 13 sec

Here's what we got on tap for you today:

• Meme of the Week
• Is the Patagonia Plan Good Enough?
• New Job Opportunities
• Food Foundry Accelerator Program
• Win of the Week: Study Reveals the Super Powers of Kelp
• Bummer of the Week: Hurricane Fiona Devastates Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic

Meme of the Week:

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Article of the Week:

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Is the Patagonia Plan Good Enough?

By now we know you’ve all heard that Patagonia’s CEO Yvon Chouinard pulled the ultimate baller move and gave the company away to an environmental nonprofit. His measly little gift is valued at $3 billion, and now Patagonia can say, “the earth is our only shareholder.” Take that, North Face.

Now that the glitz and glam around the big announcement have faded, we’re curious…what does this actually mean? Are we supposed to bow to Yvon the “billionaire no more” champion or question whether he has an ulterior motive?

Will this move actually make a positive impact on the earth? Will more billionaires follow suit? Is capitalism changed forever?! Zip up those vests, because we scoured the Internet for answers.

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Here’s a roundup of the hot takes on Patagonia’s plan:

• Some critics point out that Patagonia has fallen short of its sustainability promises in the past and that we need more information before we start celebrating.
• The Washington Post calls Chouinard an outlier among other billionaires who pledge to give their fortunes away to charities.
• Our dude Yvon got himself a pretty sweet tax break.
• Forget “woke capitalism,” this is now the future of business. However, public companies may not have the same freedom as Patagonia, which is privately owned.
• Slow fashion activists point out that Patagonia will continue to crank out massive amounts of new products, which has a big environmental impact. Time will tell if the increased sales will create substantial positive change or simply cancel out Patagonia’s growing carbon output.

The mixed messages make one thing clear: Patagonia’s experiment is just that…an experiment. But hey, we hope it works out and that other billionaires feel peer-pressured into following suit.

Until then, we'd like to welcome Yvon back into the world of not being a billionaire! No one tell him that it's way worse.

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A Message from our Partner

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The Food Foundry Accelerator Program

 Are you ready to disrupt the food service industry in a good way? We know our subscribers have stellar ideas to help make the world a better place, but maybe you lack the resources to bring your vision to life.

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That’s why we’re partnering with Food Foundry, a Chicago-based accelerator to help grow companies that are disrupting the food industry. Your idea could be the next pizza delivery drone!

Applications to the fifth cohort are now open and we encourage you to apply if you are an early-stage startup, including pre-team and pre-traction, that is rethinking the way that food is created, moved, and consumed.

Food Foundry provides a sweet $75,000 check, four months of startup curriculum, and access to the extended Relish Works network of fellow founders, investors, and partners. They’re giving you everything you need to bring your idea to life. Now can someone please solve the whole vegan cheese problem?

Applications are open now through October 23rd - learn more here and apply directly here.

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