Patagonia's World Trout Initiative Grants

WORLD TROUT ISSUES FINAL GRANTS FOR 2009

Eight Global Grassroots Groups Receive $75,000 for Fish and Habitat Enhancement

Ventura, CA (January 12, 2010) Patagonia, Inc, the outdoor gear and technical apparel company announced today their World Trout initiative has issued eight grants totaling $75,000 to global grassroots groups whose diverse efforts to protect and enhance fish and their habitat around the world exemplify the philosophy of World Trout.

Grant recipients include the Wild Salmon Center at $10,00 for their Koppi River Salmon Diversity project; Pacific Rivers Council at $8,000 for their Umpqua River Legacy Program; Truckee River Watershed Council, who’s efforts on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Restoration received $15,000; Takshanuk Watershed council was allocated $10,000 for completion of their water rights reservations initiatives; Bahamian-based Friends of the Environment was the recipient of $8,000 for their sustainable crawfish campaign, Henry’s Fork Foundation’s film, Watershed, which is about impressive hands-on projects completed over the past 25 years, was allotted $3,000 to help distribute this informative film to anglers and other grassroots groups in the hopes these efforts can be replicated; Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s research on critical tarpon habitat received $15,000 and Italian group Societa Valsesiana Pescatori Sportivi was sent $8,000 for enhancement of their threatened grayling habitat.

World Trout was founded by Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard and author/artist James Prosek, who believed that immediate, hands-on action through local grassroots groups can begin to address multiple threats facing our fish and their habitat. Educating the public about these groups’ efforts and raising money to support their vitally important activities was the goal. As a result, original artwork by such renowned artists as James Prosek, Tim Borski and Alan James Robinson, has been used to create unique t-shirts, with $5 from the sales of each shirt set aside to fund these groups. Since 2005, World Trout has successfully generated over $400,000 that has been allocated to 30 local grassroots groups.

Because of increasing requests for support and the significant amount of dollars that have been raised, Patagonia has made the World Trout Grant application process easier. Go to www.patagonia.com/worldtrout and the grant guidelines in the lower left corner will walk you through the process. "This grant process allows us to receive applications from groups worldwide, allowing us to react more rapidly to fund those working tirelessly to protect and enhance fish and habitat," noted Bill Klyn, Patagonia’s international fishing development manager.

About Patagonia
Noted internationally for its commitment to product quality, Patagonia’s Environmental Grants program has contributed over contributed over $35M to grassroots environmental activists since the program began in 1985. Patagonia, with sales last year of $315M, is noted internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism. Its Environmental Grants Program has and its Environmental Internship Program allows employees to work for environmental groups while receiving their full paycheck. Incorporating environmental responsibility in to product development, the company has, since 1996, used only organically-grown cotton in its clothing line, and is noted world-wide for using recycled soda bottles in many of its polyester fleece garments.

www.patagonia.com

About Patagonia
Noted internationally for its commitment to product quality, Patagonia’s Environmental Grants program has contributed over $35M to grassroots environmental programs since it first began back in 1985. Since 1993, Patagonia is noted world-wide for using recycled soda pop bottles in many of its polyester fleece garments. Raising the bar even further, our Common Threads Recycling Program takes back ours and our competitors’ polyester underwear and specific Malden Mills fleece, along with organic cotton t-shirts, to be recycled into new fibers. The company has paved the way for others to get on the garment recycling bandwagon. In addition, Patagonia initiated the Footprint Chronicles, a unique, transparent insight into the impact a product generates from its sourcing of materials until it is delivered to our warehouse. For further information on these programs, visit www.patagonia.com/recycle.