The Cresting Wave of Sustainable Business
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
What does it mean to be a sustainable business? Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword - it's becoming the path forward for many individuals and businesses that want to have an active role in protecting our planet. For many businesses, adopting a greener approach to everyday practices is not only essential to doing their part to help the environment, but it also critical to staying relevant to customers, as the public begins and continues to adjust their preferences to companies that acknowledge their environmental responsibility. The Next Swell is proud to feature companies that live these values and own their responsibility via the merchandise we sell on our website and the products we buy and use personally.
Farm Fresh Clothing Co. The first company we want to feature is Farm Fresh Clothing Co., a California-based apparel company making big waves in the sustainable clothing sphere. This also happens to be the company from which we source The Next Swell Logo Tee’s, Tanks, and Racerback Tanks. Farm Fresh Clothing makes and prints all of their clothing in California, using only eco-friendly water-based inks. They are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified, meaning their cotton is pure and ethically sourced without pesticides, forced or child labor, or through unfair wage practices. We love their focus on making the world a better place through their business practices, and we’re lucky to partner with them to make our incredibly comfy shirts!
MiiR. The next company we’re featuring is MiiR, a beverage container company that contributes directly to sustainability through their focus on product quality, as well as through direct support with non-profit organizations and efforts. MiiR produces The Next Swell Logo Tumblers which, like all of their products, is engineered to maximize durability and lifespan in order to encourage reusability. It is also 100% recyclable! Taking their role in sustainable business to the next level, MiiR invests a portion of top-line revenue in trusted non-profit organizations – giving over $2.6 million to organizations across 26 countries as of 2021.
ChicoBag. ChicoBag is responsible for producing the The Next Swell’s Logo Reusable Tote and this company focuses on eliminating single use bags – one of the four worst polluters of plastics in landfills and our oceans. ChicoBag values efficiency, durability, innovation, and quality with all of their products. They partner with seven sustainability initiatives, and hold themselves to using certified recycled yarn, ensuring fair labor practices, ethical manufacturing, and zero-waste operations in the production of their bags. Best yet, the Reusable Tote and the rest of their products is made from Repreve fabric – which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles!
EcoEnclose. The next company we’d like to feature might initially seem like an odd choice, but if you have ordered a shirt, tote, tumbler, or combination of any of the above, you might have noticed they generally arrive in EcoEnclose packaging. With how prevalent online shopping is in all of our lives, we accumulate and throw out more packaging material per capita than ever before. EcoEnclose seeks to address this by creating packaging materials that are created from post-consumer recycled content, that is designed to be reused instead of thrown out after the first use. It is also 100% recyclable!
The final two company’s we’re featuring you won’t see in our online shop but will be well represented and worn by both of our co-founders and the board of directors…A LOT. Additionally, both companies have done quite a lot in the form of donations and advertising for our little non-profit.
Lani Shades. Looking for the perfect set of shades? Look no further than Lani Shades. Lani Shades is local, Honolulu - based sunglass company that was born to in pursuit of developing the perfect pair of sunglasses, on or off the water. Lani Shades are made out of wood, meaning their durable, light weight, and most importantly they float – very important if you’re on the water all day! They use polarized, polymer film lenses which are scratch resistant and have some fantastic color choices. So, not only are these the perfect sunglasses for sailing, but your eyes get protected, you look oh so fly, and they don’t harm the ocean that we love so much.
Waterlust. Last, but certainly not least is Waterlust. Founded by fellow University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science graduates, this family-run business formed with the goal of spreading science and love for the water. Waterlust develops advocate clothing that promoted various marine conservation efforts, with 10% of profits from sales going to its associated research or non-profit organization. Causes range from coral conservation to abalone restoration to shark and ray research and beyond. Additionally, 100% of profits for their “Divers in Solidarity” collection goes towards the Black Girls Dive Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to educating underserved youth about swimming and empowering young girls and women to explore their STEM identifies and become leaders in conservation. Today, Waterlust has advocacy clothing for about 15 different programs and organizations. And did we mention Waterlust uses eco-responsible materials and packaging, and the clothing is AMAZING!?
There are hundreds and thousands of organizations trying to make a difference for our environment. These are just a few. So, do some research and be sure to support those organizations doing their part.