Surfwear labels rely on healthy oceans and we’ve all read the stories of how the world’s oceans are filling up with trash, the main culprit bring plastic. Well, two UK surfwear labels are now taking a stand with sustainable fashion design.
Finisterre, a cold-water surf company, designs built-to-last clothing made from responsibly-sourced fabrics, and innovative packaging made from compostable corn starch that keeps non-biodegradable plastic to a minimum. Despite the extra cost and time required to design such packaging, Finisterre is clear that to do otherwise would be counter-intuitive: “If you’re going to the ends of the Earth to get a product as responsible as you can”, says Ernie Capbert, brand director at Finisterre, “then to wrap it in shit defeats the whole purpose.”
For Finisterre, designing long-lasting apparel reduces both the volume of clothing that end up in landfill and the proliferation of single-use packaging. By integrating more circular economy thinking into their business model, Finisterre recognised the value of offering a repair service and now hires a milliner who repairs and patches garments.
Not only does this extend the product lifecycle, it creates brand awareness in the process, says Capbert: “Customers get patches and repairs in different colors, which tell stories about how each one came to be – it’s marketing money just can’t buy.”
Another London-based brand taking it one step further is Riz Boardshorts, using a 360-degree sustainability process they call ‘Rizcycling’. The boardshorts its sells are made from 100% recycled-and-recyclable fabric. Because fabric recycling points can be hard to find, Riz incentivises customers to send shorts back by offering a 25% discount off a new pair – all posted in recycled-and-recyclable cardboard.
Not content with a closed loop, its next step is to run a crowdfunding campaign for investment to turn plastics found in the ocean and on beaches into shorts. By doing this it is working towards reducing the introduction of any new materials into the manufacturing process.
Adam Hall, sustainability manager of Surfdome says, “customers now expect action from a conscientious industry and it is our challenge to deliver that for them.”
Surf companies such as Finisterre and Riz are joining the likes of G-Star Raw and Quiksilver in demonstrating that doing good by the environment is also good for business.
Source: The Guardian
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