Quotes from Yvon Chouinard

But you are what you do, not what you say you are.

It was also clear that in order to survive at this game, we had to get serious.

In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.

Technocrats tell us we can't go backward, we can't refuse technology, because then we won't progress. We are told that life is increasingly complex, that's the way it is […] If this is all true, then we are doomed. Going back to a simpler life based on living by sufficiency rather than excess is not a step backward; rather, returning to a simpler way allows us to regain our dignity, puts us in touch with the land, and makes us value human contact again.

You have to be true to yourself; you have to know your strengths and limitations and live within your means.

Function must dictate form.

It's okay to be eccentric, as long as you are rich; otherwise you're just crazy.

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. —L. P. Jacks

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation.

Patagonia's image is a human voice. It expresses the joy of people who love the world, who are passionate about their beliefs, and who want to influence the future. It is not processed; it won't compromise its humanity. This means that it will offend, and it will inspire.

its kinda like the quest for the Holy Grail. Who gives a shit what the Holy Grail is, the quest is what's important. The transformation is within yourself, that's what is important.

To re-create the entrepreneurial atmosphere of the sort we'd had at Chouinard Equipment, we broke the line into eight categories and hired eight product czars to manage them. Each was responsible for his or her own product development, marketing, inventory, quality control, and coordination with the three sales channels—wholesale, mail order, and retail.

Why is a worm so effective? Because it is always moving.

when we consider the purchase of anything, to ask ourselves, both as producers and consumers: Is this purchase necessary? Do I really need a new outfit to do yoga? Can I do well enough with something I already have? And will it do more than one thing?

Once you lose the discipline of functionality as a design guidepost, the imagination runs amok.

Sometimes good ideas spring from having a sense of where you want to go, of having a vision of the next level of products.

I found that the Russians had destroyed much of their country trying to keep up with the United States in their arms race.

Patagonia brings to mind, as we once wrote in a catalog introduction, "romantic visions of glaciers tumbling into fjords, jagged windswept peaks, gauchos and condors." Our intent was to make clothing for those rugged southern Andes/Cape Horn conditions. It's been a good name for us, and it can be pronounced in every language.

Looking back now, I see that we made all the classic mistakes of a growing company.

We needed philosophical and inspirational guides to make sure we always asked the right questions and found the right answers.

The goal was to teach every employee in the company our business and environmental ethics and values.

The sooner a company tries to be what it is not, the sooner it tries to "have it all," the sooner it will die.

The best-performing firms make a narrow range of products very well. The best firms' products also use up to 50 percent fewer parts than those made by their less successful rivals. Fewer parts means a faster, simpler (and usually cheaper) manufacturing process. Fewer parts means less to go wrong; quality comes built in. And although the best companies need fewer workers to look after quality control, they also have fewer defects and generate less waste.

In a recession, when our wholesale sales are down, our direct sales channels do well because there is no lessened demand for our goods from our loyal customers. In the past, recessions have hurt our competitors and driven customers to us because people became less frivolous in their purchases. They didn't mind paying more for goods that won't go out of style and are of such quality that they will last a long time.