INDEX / DIRECTORY / PATAGONIA

Patagonia

Fashion & Apparel 61 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-09-22 METHOD V6.5
BDS-1000 Score 171 /1000 E Tier E - Limited
OWNERSHIP TREE 13 brands and group businesses View all

OpenIntel is reader-funded - no sponsors, no institutional money. Support OpenIntel →

Key Findings

  • Economic: Patagonia’s retailer directory and Surf-Pass representations support an active third-party Israeli sales channel for Patagonia wetsuits in Tel Aviv, but do not establish a Patagonia-owned store, direct distribution contract, sales volume, or settlement sales.1, 2
  • Political: Patagonia’s ownership structure directs voting control to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and non-voting stock to Holdfast Collective; reviewed materials identify no Israel/Palestine-specific corporate policy, state partnership, or grant.3, 4
  • Military: Historical Lost Arrow Project activity included U.S.-facing specialised fieldwear, but the reviewed record identifies no Israeli defence, security, export, procurement, or defence-prime relationship.5, 6
  • Not found: No public evidence identified of an Israeli military, intelligence, surveillance, cloud, AI, biometric, settlement-infrastructure, or occupied-territory operational nexus.6, 7, 8

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NamePatagonia Works / Patagonia, Inc.
JurisdictionCalifornia, United States; Patagonia Works is described as a California benefit corporation.9
HeadquartersVentura, California, United States.10
SectorOutdoor apparel, equipment, and related retail.9, 10
OwnershipPrivately held. Patagonia Purpose Trust holds all voting stock and 2% of shares; Holdfast Collective holds all non-voting stock and 98% of shares.3
Key Executives / GovernanceRyan Gellert is CEO of Patagonia Works and Patagonia, Inc.; the Purpose Trust elects the board. Patagonia has identified Yvon Chouinard as founder.11, 12
Israeli-Nexus SummaryDocumented nexus is limited to third-party retail availability of Patagonia wetsuits in Israel; no public evidence identified of direct Israeli operations, settlement activity, state contracting, or security-sector involvement.1, 2, 6

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Patagonia is a California-based outdoor-apparel group whose documented Israel nexus is an identified, third-party retail channel for wetsuits. Patagonia Europe’s wetsuit-retailer directory lists a Tel Aviv location linked to Ski-Pass, while Surf-Pass - Ski-Pass Ltd.’s surf division - states that it imports and “exclusively distributes” Patagonia wetsuits and supplies more than 30 shops.1, 2 These sources support retail availability in Israel, including public availability in 2026, but do not establish a Patagonia-owned Israeli store, direct contract, shipment volume, importer-of-record status, contractual exclusivity, or sales into settlements.1, 2

The record does not support a military nexus to Israel. Patagonia’s former Lost Arrow Project produced specialised, U.S.-made, Berry-compliant fieldwear for U.S. government-facing channels, including the Military Alpine Recce System; public material documents a U.S. Army contract and congressional discussion of USSOCOM outerwear.5, 14, 15 However, no public evidence identified of an Israeli Ministry of Defense, IDF, police, prison-service, defence-prime, export-licence, end-user, procurement, or Israeli-security-specific product relationship involving Patagonia, Lost Arrow, ForgeLine, or other named group entities.6

The digital record is similarly negative. Patagonia’s privacy disclosures describe ordinary consumer-data processing and unnamed service-provider categories, while a specific Italian retail CCTV notice identifies a processor without naming the provider or any Israeli connection.16, 17 No public evidence identified of Israeli-origin enterprise technology, Project Nimbus participation, Israeli military or intelligence technology deployment, AI, biometrics, facial recognition, surveillance platforms, or Israeli R&D operations.7, 8

The company’s public governance and philanthropic materials establish environmental-purpose ownership and grantmaking, not Israel/Palestine-directed activity. Reviewed primary Patagonia Org filings did not verify grants to Israeli, settlement-linked, Palestinian, Israel/Palestine-focused, or Israeli state-financing recipients; FY2025 recipient-level screening remains incomplete because the primary schedule did not render.3, 18 On the fixed human-vetted V6.5 assessment, Patagonia receives BRS 171 and Tier E (Minimal/No Complicity): limited economic and political exposure reflects documented Israeli retail availability and associated corporate nexus, while military and digital scores are zero.1, 2

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
1973Patagonia Works identifies Patagonia as founded by Yvon Chouinard and based in Ventura, California.10
10 August 2020An FPDS-derived record identifies Lost Arrow, Inc. as vendor for a $13,300 U.S. Army/Natick Soldier Center special-purpose-clothing contract.14
September 2022Patagonia announced transfer of 2% of stock and all voting stock to Patagonia Purpose Trust, and 98% of stock and all non-voting stock to Holdfast Collective.3
1 June 2022A ForgeLine announcement reports that the business formerly known as Patagonia’s Lost Arrow Project separated and was no longer affiliated with Patagonia.19
18 December 2024Patagonia’s Montebelluna-store notice documented CCTV processing by an unnamed service provider under a data-processing agreement.17
2026Patagonia Europe’s retailer directory and Surf-Pass materials supported continued public availability of Patagonia wetsuits through an Israeli third-party channel.1, 2

Corporate Overview

Patagonia Works is a California benefit corporation and holding company. It identifies Patagonia, Inc. as the apparel-and-equipment business and GPIW as the retail-store business, with international subsidiaries and branches in California, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.9 Its disclosed broader group includes Patagonia Provisions, Patagonia Media, Fletcher Chouinard Designs, Tin Shed Ventures, Worn Wear, and Great Pacific Child Development Center.10

Patagonia is privately held under an ownership structure introduced in 2022. The Patagonia Purpose Trust holds all voting stock and 2% of shares; Holdfast Collective holds 98% and all non-voting stock. The Purpose Trust has authority over board composition and amendments to the company charter.3 Patagonia states that excess profits remaining after reinvestment and reserves are distributed to Holdfast Collective for environmental and community purposes.3

No public evidence identified of a Patagonia-owned Israeli subsidiary, branch, warehouse, office, company-operated retail store, factory, research facility, or Israeli importer-of-record entity.9, 13 The available evidence instead supports a third-party retail relationship: Patagonia Europe’s directory lists a Tel Aviv wetsuit retailer linked to Ski-Pass, and Surf-Pass states that it imports and exclusively distributes Patagonia wetsuits.1, 2 Neither source establishes the precise legal or contractual relationship between Patagonia and the retailer, nor an occupied-territory nexus.1, 2

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

Patagonia’s historical military-facing activity is connected to Lost Arrow Project, a former government-channel business. Patagonia Works lists Lost Arrow, Inc. d/b/a Lost Arrow Project as a government channel company, while ForgeLine states that the operating business previously known as Lost Arrow Project became independent in 2022.11, 19 The available sources do not resolve whether a residual Lost Arrow legal entity remains within Patagonia Works.11, 19

Historical records document U.S.-facing specialised clothing rather than Israeli military activity. A 2022 catalogue described U.S.-made, Berry-compliant special-purpose clothing for federal and defence contracting, including MARS; trade reporting described specialised protective outerwear and fieldwear for extreme conditions.5, 15 A U.S. Army/Natick Soldier Center contract and congressional discussion concerning USSOCOM support the existence of U.S. government-facing activity.14, 20

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The strongest defence is that the documented military-facing activity was U.S.-based, concerned protective clothing rather than weapons or targeting systems, and involved an operation reported as separated from Patagonia in 2022.5, 15, 19 Historical U.S. procurement, domestic Berry-compliant sourcing, and U.S. defence-policy lobbying do not establish an Israeli relationship.14, 20, 21

No public evidence identified of Israeli procurement, tenders, contracts, memoranda, export licences, end-user certificates, Israeli-security-specific variants, Israeli state-security sales, Israeli defence-prime supply, or Israeli military logistics involving Patagonia, Lost Arrow, ForgeLine, or named affiliated entities.6 A secondary presentation of a purported later Lost Arrow delivery order was not independently verified through its underlying primary award record and is not treated as a verified procurement record.22

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Patagonia’s public privacy notice documents collection of customer account, contact, payment, purchase, browsing, device, IP-derived location, call-recording, and inferred-preference data.16 It identifies broad categories of providers, including analytics, technical support, payment, fulfilment, platform, and social-network providers, but does not name vendors or identify Israeli processing, storage, routing, or access.16

A Montebelluna-store notice documents CCTV processing at that store by a service provider under a data-processing agreement. The notice does not identify the provider, hardware, analytics features, biometric capability, or Israeli origin.17

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of Patagonia’s use of facial recognition, biometric identification, gait analysis, Trigo, BriefCam, AnyVision/Oosto, Trax, predictive policing, social-media monitoring, workforce surveillance, or Israeli-origin enterprise-technology vendors.7 No public evidence identified that Patagonia participates in Project Nimbus or provides cloud, data-sovereignty, AI, surveillance, intelligence, cyber, or digital-weapons services to Israeli state or security bodies.7, 8

These findings are bounded by public disclosures. Patagonia does not name all cloud, analytics, platform, support, or other processors, so the reviewed record does not resolve whether unnamed providers use AI-enabled functions on Patagonia’s behalf.16

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

The substantiated economic nexus is third-party retail availability in Israel. Surf-Pass states that it imports and exclusively distributes Patagonia wetsuits, operates retail outlets, and distributes to more than 30 shops.2 Patagonia Europe’s wetsuit-retailer directory lists “ski & snowboard” at Charlotte de Bourbon Street 14, Tel Aviv, Israel, and directs customers to its linked retailer website.1

Together, these sources support an active Israel-based third-party sales channel for wetsuits. They do not establish Patagonia-issued appointment, direct contractual exclusivity, importer-of-record status, inventory, product volume, direct shipping, agreement duration, revenue, or settlement deliveries.1, 2 No public evidence identified of a primary distribution contract, appointment letter, customs declaration, importer registration, invoice, or other record resolving those points.1, 2

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of Patagonia sales, sourcing, operations, revenue, offices, logistics, warehouses, company-operated stores, factories, workforce, tax registration, or direct legal-entity operations in West Bank settlements, East Jerusalem settlements, the Golan Heights, or Gaza.1, 2, 13 Patagonia’s owned-and-operated-facilities disclosure does not identify Israel as an office or distribution-centre location, although its omission does not exclude third-party retail or unreported activity.13

No public evidence identified of Israeli suppliers, Israeli agricultural procurement, Israeli white-label sourcing, Israeli-owned Patagonia production, Israeli sovereign-bond exposure, Israel-focused fund investment, or settlement-origin goods.23, 3 The reviewed FY2024 Patagonia Org grant schedule did not identify an Israel/Palestine-named recipient; FY2025 screening was incomplete because the primary recipient schedule could not be reviewed.18

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Patagonia’s political/governance relevance arises from its ownership, environmental-grant architecture, and public corporate purpose rather than a documented Israel/Palestine policy. Patagonia states that its ownership arrangement is intended to direct wealth toward environmental protection; the Purpose Trust elects the board and Holdfast Collective receives non-voting stock and potential excess-profit distributions.3, 12

Patagonia states that it has funded grassroots environmental organisations since 1985 and gives 1% of sales through environmental grantmaking.24 Its FY2025 report states that the 1% for the Planet programme provided $14.7 million in grants and in-kind support to 824 nonprofits globally, but does not provide a complete recipient-level ledger or identify an Israel/Palestine recipient.25

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of a Patagonia corporate Israel-Palestine policy statement, boycott response, state-partnership initiative, Israeli political contribution, Israel-related lobbying record, military-welfare relationship, settlement initiative, or Israel/Palestine-directed brand programme.4, 26 A Patagonia-hosted bibliography containing sources on Gaza-related protest and humanitarian topics does not establish corporate sponsorship of a protest, adoption of those sources’ claims, conflict-related funding, or a corporate policy position.26

No public evidence identified in the reviewed materials of grants expressly directed to Israeli state-linked, military-welfare, settlement, Israel/Palestine advocacy, Palestinian-rights, or Palestinian recipients.18, 27 This is not proof that no indirect, intermediary, historical, cross-border, or unreviewed grant activity exists; intermediary downstream recipients and FY2025 recipient-level records were not fully resolved.18, 27

Named Entities and Evidence Map

BDS-1000 Score

Method: V6.5.

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military0.000.000.000.00
Digital0.000.000.000.00
Economic1.504.009.000.86
Political3.504.009.002.00

V_MAX is driven by the limited but documented economic retail nexus and associated governance/political exposure, not by verified military, digital, settlement, or state-security conduct.1, 2, 3 The Tier E result reflects the scale-free, evidence-only, human-vetted V6.5 method: it records substantiated links while retaining the audits’ negative findings and unresolved limits.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://eu.patagonia.com/lt/en/wetsuit-dealers.html 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

  2. https://www.surfpass.co.il/about 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

  3. https://www.patagonia.com/ownership/ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

  4. https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/PAT_Protest_Sources-032626.pdf 2

  5. https://www.supplycore.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Patagonia-Lost-Arrow-Project-_-Special-Purpose-Clothing-Solutions.pdf 2 3 4 5

  6. https://www.sibat.mod.gov.il/Industries/directory/Documents/Sibatdir-dfs-en-2018-19.pdf 2 3 4 5 6 7

  7. https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/59/23 2 3 4 5 6

  8. https://www.patagonia.com/privacy-notice.html 2 3 4

  9. https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dw1651bad1/slots/RMA/PAT_2026_LegalDocuments-ModernSlaveryAct-May.pdf 2 3 4 5 6

  10. https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2022/9/14/patagonias-next-chapter-earth-is-now-our-only-shareholder 2 3 4 5

  11. https://www.patagoniaworks.com/faq 2 3 4

  12. https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dwc1135e01/slots/RMA/PAT_FY25_ClimateRiskReport-122225-v2.pdf 2 3

  13. https://www.patagonia.com/where-we-do-business/owned-and-operated.html 2 3 4 5

  14. https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus-contracts/contracts/W911QY20P0237 2 3 4 5

  15. https://soldiersystems.net/2018/05/17/the-lost-arrow-project-by-patagonia-military-alpine-recce-system-system-overview/ 2 3

  16. https://www.patagonia.com/privacy-notice.html 2 3 4 5

  17. https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/dwdb02c33e/PDF-EU/Privacy-Notice-Montebelluna-EN-final-18-12-2024.pdf 2 3 4

  18. https://docs.candid.org/990/142/142004175/142004175_2024_202510769349101026_990.pdf 2 3 4 5 6

  19. https://soldiersystems.net/2022/06/08/forgeline-solutions-announces-new-ownership/ 2 3 4 5 6 7

  20. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-116hrpt453/pdf/CRPT-116hrpt453.pdf 2 3

  21. https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/d902cea5-d8cf-4f95-9286-78674a1dd143/print/

  22. https://www.highergov.com/contract/47QSWA19D0056-47QFNA22F0038/

  23. https://www.patagonia.com/working-with-factories-farms-mills/

  24. https://www.patagonia.com/how-we-fund/

  25. https://www.patagonia.com/progress-report/

  26. https://www.patagonia.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-PatagoniaShared/default/PAT_Protest_Sources-032626.pdf 2 3

  27. https://docs.candid.org/990/142/142004175/142004175_2023_202420759349101107_990PF.pdf 2 3

  28. https://www.patagonia.com/actionworks/about/