The Big Green Money Making Clothing Conundrum Machine

Let it be known that Outerknown, Kelly Slater and John Moore’s much talked about lifestyle/leisure brand, has been released into the commercial ether. Also let it be known that (in my humble blue collar opinion at least) it is yet another a massively overpriced, over-hyped surf brand dollied up as some sort of more sustainable, more green, more organic coffee enema and chia seed salad, less Bangladeshi sweatshop, child labour and human rights abuses clothing alternative.

Believe it or not I actually didn’t derive much glee from writing that introductory paragraph. I in fact really do like Kelly Slater. Apart from his phenomenal talent on a surfboard, I admire the fact that he stepped away from Quiksilver because (rumour has it at least), he was unhappy about their labour practices in the manufacturing of their goods. I admire the crisp write-up and perfect syntax on outerknown.com regarding their partnering with The Fair Labour Association, ‘lifting the lid on the traditional supply chain’ and 'putting sustainability at the fore of their business model’. Yes, yes. All very admirable stuff indeed.

What I don’t find admirable is charging someone 185 US Dollars....

...for a shirt.

Then again, perhaps this shouldn’t surprise me considering Kelly’s principle backer is The Kering Group, who’s subsidiary’s include such luxury brands as Stella McCartney, Saint Laurent Paris and Gucci. For a company toting honesty, transparency and mover over, sustainability... Outerknown and Kering sure make strange bedfellows.

Herein many of us face a conundrum of sorts. The brands that we grew up with, those several large traditional surf brands are based on a fast failing model. Large cumbersome corporates, out of touch with the general public and the market space in which they operate, making overpriced yet still shitty clothes that last a single season, usually off the backs off cheap third world labour. Gordon Stanley Merchant, (that’s the group that owns Billabong), Quiksilver, Ripcurl. The lot of them. But like the many large greedy amoral financial institutions that dominate the banking sector, they continue to cling on to life, seemingly too big to just die already.

Enter the Patagonia’s and the Outerknown's. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s enigmatic and charming founder. Ever the contradiction, I’ve seen interviews with him where he’s seemingly brooding, bad tempered and pessimistic, like my German grandfather, and yet still passionate, youthful, reflective and enthusiastically committed to his cause. Patagonia donates a whopping 1% of their total sales or 10% of their profit; whichever is more, to environmental causes. Something most retailers could certainly learn from. A miserly one percent you say? Well, in 2013 Patagonia released profits of 600 million US Dollars; that’s a fair chunk of change going towards something good. Do yourself a favour at watch 180 Degrees South, it’s impossible not to love the man.

But Patagonia, like its founder is also a contradiction of sorts. Fair Trade? Sure. Good quality? I have no doubt about it. But as a brand, the prices of their products, despite their lofty environmentally conscious ideology are simply far too much for most of us to afford.

So what ever happened to the blossoming culture of smallish local surf brands? Back in the 90’s I remember a bunch of them growing up specifically, Shaun Thompson’s Instinct and Solitude dominated the local scene in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Eventually sponsoring surfing legends Tom Carroll and Barton Lynch, they were locally designed and produced with innovative and honest advertising campaigns producing relatively cheap yet high quality gear for their day. Sadly suffered under the embargo of South African goods and services during the final days of Apartheid and eventually disappeared off the map during the ensuing retail tail off during the 1990’s. An attempt to re-launch the brand from Thompson’s new base in Santa Barbara fell flat in 2006.

In today's inter connected world, our lives are dominated by a few burgeoning giants. Surfing and surf gear is no exception.

‘Local is lekker’ is probably a phrase you’ll hear if you ever spend time in South Africa. 'Lekker' loosely translated from Afrikaans means good. Nice. Even tasty.The Big Green Money Making Clothing Conundrum Machine.

So, instead of ordering that plaid shirt from Outerknown because Kelly says it’s Fair Trade and is made from environmentally friendly hemp fibre, but failing to consider the environmental impact of shipping the thing a thousand miles to your front door; why not support the local guy. Whether he's shaping boards, making board shorts, organic surf wax, whatever. Chances are, it’s going be all the things that Patagonia and Outerknown claim to be and more. That, and your lekker new plaid shirt wont cost you 180 bucks.