Outerknown, the sustainable lifestyle brand founded by Kelly Slater and John Moore, moves into spring 2019 with the launch of its first-ever women’s collection.
In 2015, professional surfer Kelly Slater and creative director John Moore set out to create a brand that would disrupt the fashion landscape by making a true connection between sustainability and style. Since then, Outerknown has succeeded in building brand affinity within the conscious lifestyle and menswear markets by offering quality products, made with the best partners, and most importantly, with the highest regard for People and Planet.
“We started Outerknown to prove that we could make great clothes using fair labor practices and materials that are not harmful to the environment,” says Slater. “Our growing business shows us that people want to make conscious choices about their clothes—you don’t have to harm people or the planet for the sake of fashion.”
Inspired by and designed for the women who are making change – in their respective fields and in their communities all over the world – Outerknown women’s seeks to reach those whose style is led by their intelligence. The debut collection of 17 styles includes a variation of tops, dresses and bottoms in various color ways that all work together to create a versatile wardrobe of effortless, everyday essentials that come with a clean conscience. Incredibly, the entire collection is made of 100% benefit fibers (organic, recycled, and/or regenerated) with prices ranging from $48 – $268.
John Moore adds that over the years, they noticed that Outerknown’s customer base was growing beyond just men. “Women were always ‘borrowing from the boys’ and have continuously showed their support of our ethos, quality and style. We thought it was time to give them pieces they could call their own.”
Some of these pieces include the Canyon Dress, Bee Shirt, Sunrose Top and Pacific Kimono, all made of 100% Organic Cotton and produced in collaboration with Piece & Co, an organization working to empower women around the world through textile manufacturing. It is an organization that is near to Outerknown as it parallels the brand’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
Outerknown women’s debut campaign features environmental activist and Trash is for Tossers blogger Lauren Singer, activist and founder of Female Collective, Candace Reels, and model and founder of Chasseresse, Raychel Roberts. “It was important for us to look to women with an authentic connection to People and Planet,” says Moore. “Lauren, Candace and Raychel each embody the intelligence, enthusiasm, and drive to leave this planet better than they entered it, and more importantly, are sharing their knowledge to inspire change.”
About Outerknown
Founded by professional surfer Kelly Slater and acclaimed designer John Moore, Outerknown is a sustainable lifestyle brand made For People and Planet. Every decision is made with the highest regard for the hands that craft our clothes and the world we call home. From seeds to suppliers to circular design, the mission is to protect natural resources, empower the people crafting our clothes, and inspire change within the industry and beyond by being completely transparent about our process. From our launch, we have created trusted partnerships with companies such as Fair Trade USA, bluesign® and Econyl®. By patterning our supply chain processes around the Fair Labor Association guidelines, we reached full accreditation by the FLA in two and a half years, faster than any other clothing brand ever. Outerknown proves that sustainability and style can be synonymous and neither has to be sacrificed for the other.
Outerknown launched in 2015 and is sold at outerknown.com and at select premium retailers worldwide. For more information about Outerknown, its products, and sustainability efforts, please visit www.Outerknown.com.
@Outerknown @Outerknown_womens
Our commitment, our partners, our materials:
FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET means we’re making every decision with the highest regard for the hands that build our clothes and the world we call home.
Fair Labor Association: OK was the first company in history to join Fair Labor Association before selling a single product. Our FLA partnership assists us in making sure our workers are paid a fair wage, given appropriate time off, and provided with clean working conditions, free from discrimination.
Fair Trade: our partnership with Fair Trade USA ensures safe, healthy, and prosperous working conditions for the people that create our apparel. For every Fair Trade Certified™ product sold, additional money goes right back to the workers who made it. Workers come together to vote on how to use these profits to empower their lives.
Econyl ®: We’ve been working with Aquafil, one of the global leaders in Econyl® production, since day one. Aquafil transforms large-scale waste – think abandoned fishing nets pulled from the sea floor and carpeting stripped from demolished office buildings – back into raw fibers, ready to be reborn into other regenerated fabric such as premium nylon Econyl® which we use to make several of our products.
Oceanworks®: Our friends at OceanWorks® developed a process to create recycled ocean plastic. The plastic for each OceanWorks® button is harvested from places like Haiti and Mexico, by locals who are paid a living wage for their efforts, thereby not only preventing plastic waste from entering the ocean but also combatting extreme poverty at the same time. For people living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a country still struggling to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake, the chance to earn money by clearing out the plastic plaguing their neighborhoods and water supply is a double win.
Organic Cotton: Conventional cotton accounts for 25% of the world’s pesticide use. We opt for organic because it keeps chemicals out of our environment and requires 90% less water than its conventional counterpart.
Hemp: Sourced from the fields in the Yunnan Province of China, our durable hemp is one of the strongest natural fibers in the world. It’s also light, flexible and seriously comfortable. The best part, no wasted water or pesticides.
Recycled Polyester: Recycled polyester is created by taking raw material waste like plastic bottles and transforming them into a premium polyester fiber. We’re saying goodbye to overflowing landfills, and hello to next-level recycled materials.
PFOA free DWR: Fluorocarbon-based chemicals used in most waterproofing never break down in the wild and have been found everywhere from mountain trails to watersheds. Our waterproofing is fluorocarbon-free and leaves only a minimal trace. This innovative technique is inspired by the wild, and emulates duck feathers, repelling water and snow, while retaining a soft hand-feel – all without any harmful impact to the environment.
What does S.E.A. stand for? Social. Environmental. Accountability. The responsibility of implementing sustainability throughout the fashion industry lies in not only the supply chain and development of apparel but also in the consumers’ awareness and purchases. The S.E.A. program aims to ignite change across different consumer markets by offering high quality, stylish sustainable basics at an attainable price. These everyday items will last longer and come with the peace that no people or the planet were harmed in the making.
