by Michael Hampton
Founded in 2015 by 11-time surfing world champion Kelly Slater, Outerknown is on the frontier of sustainable textile practices. They’ve made waves in innovative spaces regarding organic, recycled, and regenerated fibers, fair trade standards for workers, and transparent practice communication. Despite niche audience sanctions in ocean athletes and communities, Slater has ensured Outerknown’s collection of textile and industry knowledge is being shared beyond themselves internally.
Outerknown’s position as a responsible brand is center-pieced by their mission, stated as, “[to] transform the way we outfit the world by inspiring an industry to reimage design and embrace circularity.” Their ethos encapsulates an understanding of nature’s cyclical interconnectivity alongside their industry’s need for creative approaches. As a masthead for purpose, a vast majority of Outerknown’s products and messaging follow these sentimental tenets closely.
Where other well-known sustainable brands such as Patagonia or even the youth-targeted WellMade have dominated the environmental responsibility realm, Outerknown struggles in gaining wider attention. While this lack of awareness proves challenging, the brand’s pioneering attitude and output shows promise in applicability to other fashion brands and groups. Their deeply engrained commitment to sustainable methods for both product and producer is an area of focus other brands should take heed of and move towards. Even certain instances of collaboration with brands such as Levi’s or Breitling are exemplary instances of contextualizing community thinking and collective effort. One of Outerknown’s best contributions beyond the fashion industry has been their transparent approach in sourcing and practice. An example of such would include their photographic, informational PDF known as “The Blue Book”; a compilation of Outerknown’s personal journey of discovering sustainable sources and methods.
While Outerknown holds significant tenets in its sustainable approach, there are facets of branding and messaging that the brand could learn from other organizations. The first to come to mind would be a more invested campaign that utilizes accessible channels such as digital platforming and social media. Despite garnering presence on both mentioned fronts, Outerknown could benefit from a more “thematic” approach in their creative communication. Such could provide the wider audience awareness they need, alongside a “megaphone” opportunity for spreading their wisdom surrounding sustainable practicum.
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