Tuesday afternoon, while walking out of the movie theater after seeing “Up” (great movie, by the way), I had my first celebrity sighting in Wyoming: Yvon Chouinard.

Actually, I walked right past the guy without a second glance, but my boyfriend grabbed my arm and whisper-shouted, “That’s Yvon Chouinard!” To which I said, “Who?” before reaching way back in my memory and recalling that Chouinard is the founder and CEO of Patagonia, a shining example of an environmentally friendly company.

As more and more companies try to go green these days, they’d do well to look to Patagonia as a benchmark. Not only is it committed to sustainable business practices, but it’s a great place to work as well. Patagonia is a clothing and gear company that Chouinard started in the 1970s, and in the ’80s he expanded the offices to include a healthy, mostly vegetarian cafeteria as well as child care for employees. Patagonia also “tithes” for environmental activism, pledging one percent of sales or ten percent of profits per year, whichever is greater, to environmental organizations. Employees get paid to work on local environmental projects, and all clothing is made with organic cotton. Patagonia’s demand for pesticide-free fabric is what led to the organic cotton industry in California.

I think Chouinard has a fascinating business model, and he has decades of success to prove its worth. If you’re interested in learning more about Chouinard or Patagonia, I recommend reading his book, “Let My People Go Surfing.” It’s a combination green business primer and memoir. Or, you could come hang out at the movies in Jackson, Wyoming and hope you run into him.