Douglas Tompkins
Encyclopedia
Douglas Tompkins is an American environmentalist
, conservationist
and a former businessman.
Tompkins co-founded and ran two clothing companies: the outdoor clothing company The North Face
; and with his then-wife Susie
, the ESPRIT clothing company
. Since leaving the business world in 1989, Tompkins has dedicated himself to environmental activism and land conservation. Along with his wife, Kristine Tompkins, he has conserved over 2 million acres (8,093.7 km²) of wilderness
in Chile
and Argentina
, more than any other private individual.
, a pre-prep school in Lakeville, CT, in 1957. In his senior year at Pomfret School in Connecticut, Tompkins was expelled for various minor infractions. He returned to his hometown in Millbrook, NY, but did not graduate from high school.
Tompkins spend the years between 1960 and 1962 ski racing and rock climbing in Colorado, Europe and South America. In 1963, Tompkins founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service. It was during this time he met Susie
, who would later become his wife, while hitch-hiking in California.
as a mail order and retail company, selling rock climbing and camping equipment. The early years set the design standard of good quality sleeping bags, backpacks, and mountaineering tents. Around 1966, Tompkins and his partner designed The North Face tents that were some of the first to avoid a pole in the middle, by using bendable rods that push out in their sleeves instead. This design also increased the strength of the tent because the domed shape allowed the wind to roll over the tents. These tents were widely copied throughout the world. In 1969, Tompkins sold The North Face to focus on adventure film making.
and two other climbing friends. They put up a new route on Mount Fitzroy, and made an adventure film, Mountain of Storms, about their experience. The 2010 film 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless
describes a modern-day recreation of this journey.
"Rebel With A Cause"
Doug Tompkins´ quest to save the wilderness - 2010 - A film by DreamTeam medienproduktion, arte, WDR, NDR 2010
Tompkins also became a skilled whitewater kayaker, claiming first descents of rivers in California, Africa, and South America.
In addition, he is a skilled bush pilot.
. By 1978, sales topped $100 million a year, and the company had formed partnerships in Germany and Hong Kong. Tompkins titled himself "image director," overseeing all aspects of the company's image, from store design to catalog layout, while his wife served as design director. Emerging as one of the hottest brands of the era, the company grew into a transnational company operating in 60 countries. At the same time, the company developed a reputation as a good place to work. In 1989, the Japanese art publisher Robundo published “Esprit, the Comprehensive Design Principle," which documented the all-encompassing design principles that Tompkins had created for the brand.
Growing increasingly concerned about the ecological impacts of the fashion industry, Tompkins decided to leave the business world in the late 1980s. In 1989, he sold his share of the American company back to Susie, from whom he had separated, putting most of his profits into land conservation. Subsequently, in 1989 and 1994, he sold his interests in the other Esprit entities around the world.
In 1993, he married Kristine Tompkins; since then the two have worked together on their conservation projects.
The Tompkins' conservation efforts focus on preserving wild landscapes and biodiversity. After purchasing large blocks of wilderness, they work to create national parks, believing that this governmental designation serves as the best mode of guaranteeing long-term conservation.
in the Palena Province of Chile, an 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) area of Valdivian temperate rainforest, high peaks, lakes, and rivers. In 1991, he bought the Reñihué farm, a semi-abandoned farm at the end of the Renihue Fjord, planning to set aside 42000 acres (170 km²) of this unique forest from possible exploitation. In the next decade, The Conservation Land Trust added another 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) in nearly contiguous parcels to create Pumalín Park. In 2005, then-President Ricardo Lagos declared this area a Nature Sanctuary, a special designation of the Chilean State, granting it additional environmental and non developmental protection. The Conservation Land Trust (a U.S. environmental foundation) has donated these protected lands to Fundación Pumalín (a Chilean foundation), for their administration and continual development as a type of National Park with public access under a private initiative. Through creating public-access infrastructure, including trails, campgrounds, visitor centers, and a restaurant, Tompkins seeks to promote wilderness experience, in hopes of inspiring a deeper environmental ethic in the park's many thousands of visitors. Although the project initially provoked controversy—largely because this type of private conservation philanthropy was previously unheard of in Chile—the park continues to gain the support of locals and visitors alike.
represents one of Tompkins' completed conservation projects. In 1994 The Conservation Land Trust, along with U.S. philanthropist Peter Buckley, acquired 208000 acres (841.7 km²) of native forest that was slated for logging, adjacent to vast areas of federal land, under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Armed Forces. CLT offered to donate this parcel back to the Chilean state, provided that the whole area became a national park. In 2005, then-President Lagos accepted this proposal, and the 726000 acres (2,938 km²) Corcovado National Park was born.
--the Esteros del Iberá project in northeastern Argentina
, in the Corrientes Province
.
--the Yendegaia project in Chile's Tierra del Fuego
In the area around Pumalin, the Hornopiren, Vodudahue, Ventisquero, Pillan, and Reñihue farms serve as both exemplars of small-scale ecological agriculture and as informal park ranger stations. Each of these farms produces a variety of products, including sheep, cattle, honey, berries, and organic vegetables. A small facility in the Pillan farm processes honey and berries for jams, which are sold under the name Pillan Organics.
In northeastern Argentina, Tompkins manages cattle ranches in Corrientes Province and polyculture grain and fruit farms in Entre Rios Province. Each farm pays close attention to developing sustainable practices.
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
and a former businessman.
Tompkins co-founded and ran two clothing companies: the outdoor clothing company The North Face
The North Face
The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags....
; and with his then-wife Susie
Susie Tompkins Buell
Susie Tompkins Buell is an American entrepreneur and a liberal political donor associated with the Democracy Alliance.-Investor and businesswoman:...
, the ESPRIT clothing company
Esprit Holdings
Esprit Holdings Limited is a publicly owned manufacturer of apparel, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and Ratingen , Germany. In the 2007–2008 business year, Esprit Holdings Limited generated a worldwide...
. Since leaving the business world in 1989, Tompkins has dedicated himself to environmental activism and land conservation. Along with his wife, Kristine Tompkins, he has conserved over 2 million acres (8,093.7 km²) of wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, more than any other private individual.
Early life
Tompkins was born in Ohio on March 20, 1943, the son of an antiques dealer and decorator. He spent the first few years of his life in New York City before his family moved to Millbrook, NY. He graduated from Indian Mountain SchoolIndian Mountain School
The Indian Mountain School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school for children grades pre-K through 9, located on two campuses in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA....
, a pre-prep school in Lakeville, CT, in 1957. In his senior year at Pomfret School in Connecticut, Tompkins was expelled for various minor infractions. He returned to his hometown in Millbrook, NY, but did not graduate from high school.
Tompkins spend the years between 1960 and 1962 ski racing and rock climbing in Colorado, Europe and South America. In 1963, Tompkins founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service. It was during this time he met Susie
Susie Tompkins Buell
Susie Tompkins Buell is an American entrepreneur and a liberal political donor associated with the Democracy Alliance.-Investor and businesswoman:...
, who would later become his wife, while hitch-hiking in California.
The North Face Company
In 1964, Tompkins and his wife started The North FaceThe North Face
The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags....
as a mail order and retail company, selling rock climbing and camping equipment. The early years set the design standard of good quality sleeping bags, backpacks, and mountaineering tents. Around 1966, Tompkins and his partner designed The North Face tents that were some of the first to avoid a pole in the middle, by using bendable rods that push out in their sleeves instead. This design also increased the strength of the tent because the domed shape allowed the wind to roll over the tents. These tents were widely copied throughout the world. In 1969, Tompkins sold The North Face to focus on adventure film making.
Outdoor Adventure
In 1968, Tompkins headed off on a six month road/ adventure trip from California to Patagonia, along with Yvon ChouinardYvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business. His second company, Patagonia is known for its environmental focus...
and two other climbing friends. They put up a new route on Mount Fitzroy, and made an adventure film, Mountain of Storms, about their experience. The 2010 film 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless
180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless
180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless, or simply 180° South, is a 2010 documentary directed by Chris Malloy that covers the journey of Jeff Johnson as he travels from Ventura, California to Patagonia, Chile retracing the 1968 trip that Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins took in their Ford...
describes a modern-day recreation of this journey.
"Rebel With A Cause"
Doug Tompkins´ quest to save the wilderness - 2010 - A film by DreamTeam medienproduktion, arte, WDR, NDR 2010
Tompkins also became a skilled whitewater kayaker, claiming first descents of rivers in California, Africa, and South America.
In addition, he is a skilled bush pilot.
Esprit
In 1968, Tompkins and his wife, Susie, and her friend Jane Tise began selling girls' dresses out of the back of a VW bus; in 1971, they incorporated the booming business under the name "Plain Jane" which later became ESPRITEsprit Holdings
Esprit Holdings Limited is a publicly owned manufacturer of apparel, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the Esprit label. The company is headquartered in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and Ratingen , Germany. In the 2007–2008 business year, Esprit Holdings Limited generated a worldwide...
. By 1978, sales topped $100 million a year, and the company had formed partnerships in Germany and Hong Kong. Tompkins titled himself "image director," overseeing all aspects of the company's image, from store design to catalog layout, while his wife served as design director. Emerging as one of the hottest brands of the era, the company grew into a transnational company operating in 60 countries. At the same time, the company developed a reputation as a good place to work. In 1989, the Japanese art publisher Robundo published “Esprit, the Comprehensive Design Principle," which documented the all-encompassing design principles that Tompkins had created for the brand.
Growing increasingly concerned about the ecological impacts of the fashion industry, Tompkins decided to leave the business world in the late 1980s. In 1989, he sold his share of the American company back to Susie, from whom he had separated, putting most of his profits into land conservation. Subsequently, in 1989 and 1994, he sold his interests in the other Esprit entities around the world.
Land Conservation
After selling his interest in Esprit, Tompkins moved to south Chile, where he had spent much time climbing, kayaking, and skiing, to devote himself to land conservation and environmental activism. He founded the Foundation for Deep Ecology in 1990, which supports environmental activism, and The Conservation Land Trust in 1992, which works to protect wildlands, primarily in Chile and Argentina.In 1993, he married Kristine Tompkins; since then the two have worked together on their conservation projects.
The Tompkins' conservation efforts focus on preserving wild landscapes and biodiversity. After purchasing large blocks of wilderness, they work to create national parks, believing that this governmental designation serves as the best mode of guaranteeing long-term conservation.
Pumalin Park
Tompkins' first major conservation project was Pumalín ParkPumalín Park
Pumalín Park is a private nature reserve in the Palena Province of Chile, created by the United States environmental foundation The Conservation Land Trust, which is endowed and led by the American business magnate Douglas Tompkins...
in the Palena Province of Chile, an 800000 acres (3,237.5 km²) area of Valdivian temperate rainforest, high peaks, lakes, and rivers. In 1991, he bought the Reñihué farm, a semi-abandoned farm at the end of the Renihue Fjord, planning to set aside 42000 acres (170 km²) of this unique forest from possible exploitation. In the next decade, The Conservation Land Trust added another 700000 acres (2,832.8 km²) in nearly contiguous parcels to create Pumalín Park. In 2005, then-President Ricardo Lagos declared this area a Nature Sanctuary, a special designation of the Chilean State, granting it additional environmental and non developmental protection. The Conservation Land Trust (a U.S. environmental foundation) has donated these protected lands to Fundación Pumalín (a Chilean foundation), for their administration and continual development as a type of National Park with public access under a private initiative. Through creating public-access infrastructure, including trails, campgrounds, visitor centers, and a restaurant, Tompkins seeks to promote wilderness experience, in hopes of inspiring a deeper environmental ethic in the park's many thousands of visitors. Although the project initially provoked controversy—largely because this type of private conservation philanthropy was previously unheard of in Chile—the park continues to gain the support of locals and visitors alike.
Corcovado National Park
Just to the south of Pumalin, Corcovado National Park (Chile)Corcovado National Park (Chile)
Corcovado National Park is an preserved area of Valdivian temperate rainforest, high peaks, alpine lakes, and rivers in Chile's Los Lagos Region. This coastal park borders the same name to the west and includes the iconic volcanoes Corcovado and Yanteles...
represents one of Tompkins' completed conservation projects. In 1994 The Conservation Land Trust, along with U.S. philanthropist Peter Buckley, acquired 208000 acres (841.7 km²) of native forest that was slated for logging, adjacent to vast areas of federal land, under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Armed Forces. CLT offered to donate this parcel back to the Chilean state, provided that the whole area became a national park. In 2005, then-President Lagos accepted this proposal, and the 726000 acres (2,938 km²) Corcovado National Park was born.
Other Conservation Projects
Some other conservation projects that Tompkins has spearheaded are:--the Esteros del Iberá project in northeastern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, in the Corrientes Province
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
.
--the Yendegaia project in Chile's Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
Ecological Restoration
In addition to preserving pristine wilderness, he has worked to restore damaged landscapes and protect threatened species.Organic Agriculture
Envisioning "conservation as a consequence of production," Tompkins has developed models of sustainable organic agriculture, which maintain soil health and ecological integrity at the same time that they provide for families and support the local economy.In the area around Pumalin, the Hornopiren, Vodudahue, Ventisquero, Pillan, and Reñihue farms serve as both exemplars of small-scale ecological agriculture and as informal park ranger stations. Each of these farms produces a variety of products, including sheep, cattle, honey, berries, and organic vegetables. A small facility in the Pillan farm processes honey and berries for jams, which are sold under the name Pillan Organics.
In northeastern Argentina, Tompkins manages cattle ranches in Corrientes Province and polyculture grain and fruit farms in Entre Rios Province. Each farm pays close attention to developing sustainable practices.
Environmental Activism
Unlike many land conservationists, Tompkins has always been both a conservationist and environmental activist. Through his Foundation for Deep Ecology, he has published a series of large, photo-format activist books on various environmental issues. These include Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture, Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, and Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. In addition, The Foundation for Deep Ecology had a long history as a generous grant-maker in categories such as Biodiversity & Wilderness, Ecological Agriculture, and Megatechnology & Economic Globalization, although in-house publishing is now its main focus. In addition, Tompkins has been involved in several large environmental campaigns in Chile and Argentina, such as the Chilean Patagonia Sin Represas campaign, which is opposing the construction of five dams on two of Patagonia's largest and wildest rivers.Recognition
Despite considerable controversy within Chile and Argentina, Tompkins' environmental work has won him respect and accolades outside of South America: in 2007, the International Conservation Caucus Foundation awarded their "Good Steward" award to him and his wife Kris; in 2008, the American Alpine Club awarded him the David R. Brower Award in 2009, for his work preserving mountain regions; in 2009, Latin Trade named him the "Environmental Leader of the Year." In 2007, he was appointed as an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, in recognition of his work restoring damaged landscapes. Eco Barons Edward Humes's 2009 account of the "dreamers, schemers, and millionaires who are saving our planet," uses Tompkins as the first example of this new group of philanthropists.See also
- Pumalín ParkPumalín ParkPumalín Park is a private nature reserve in the Palena Province of Chile, created by the United States environmental foundation The Conservation Land Trust, which is endowed and led by the American business magnate Douglas Tompkins...
- Ted TurnerTed TurnerRobert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
, who likewise owns two million acres (8,000 km2) of land - Kristine Tompkins