Douglas Tompkins Killed in Kayaking Accident

© Sam Beebe

Co-founder of The North Face and Esprit Douglas Tompkins has died aged 72 following a tragic kayaking accident in southern Chile, when the kayaks he and five others were in capsized. Douglas was helicoptered to hospital but died of hypothermia upon arrival.

Douglas Tompkins was an American environmentalist and former businessman  © Sam Beebe
Douglas Tompkins was an American environmentalist and former businessman
© Sam Beebe

The North Face was founded in 1964 by Douglas and a partner in San Francisco. 

Douglas has been described as a "passionate advocate for the environment" in a statement from The North Face. After selling his stakes in both clothing companies, he retired to Chile to devote himself to environmental causes, founding the Foundation for Deep Ecology in 1990.

Douglas and his wife spent hundreds of millions of dollars on environmental causes -  including buying land to create protected reserves - in recognition of the destructive impact that the consumer culture endorsed by his companies had upon the environment.

More information on the BBC News website.


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