Press Launch
Culver Metropolis, CA, | September 24, 2024 – In its persevering with dedication to accountable sourcing practices, Outerknown has launched a limited-edition run of its iconic Blanket Shirt made with Kelsun™, a seaweed-based fiber created by next-generation supplies firm Keel Labs. This launch marks the first-ever commercially obtainable garment made with Kelsun.
Outerknown, based by professional surfer Kelly Slater and inventive director John Moore, is thought for creating elevated, lasting wardrobe staples within the highest high quality and most responsibly sourced supplies. As the primary attire model based on a complete dedication to sustainability, Outerknown’s present line is crafted with 99% most popular fibers – together with natural, Regenerative Natural Licensed® (ROC™), recycled or regenerated fibers, and now, bio-based fibers.
Sustainable supplies firm Keel Labs created Kelsun as a plug-and-play substitute for standard fibers used within the textile business. Harnessing the renewable energy of the ocean’s sources, Kelsun is made with an plentiful biopolymer present in seaweed, leading to a fiber that’s 100% bio-based and biodegradable in wastewater. Seaweed is likely one of the most regenerative organisms on the planet; it absorbs carbon dioxide within the ocean, just like timber on land.
Outerknown has impressed change within the business by means of transparency in its processes and a dedication to the welfare of everybody they work with, from the farmer to the client. By no means pushed by traits, Outerknown has led as a pioneer within the business, pursuing various fiber choices at each alternative.
Outerknown’s new Blanket Shirt (provided in a common match for males & girls) – made with a mix of natural cotton and Kelsun yarn – appears, feels and performs like the unique model (which is able to stay within the present line) that’s made with natural and ROC™ cotton. Outerknown’s purpose is to proceed to develop this partnership by means of future merchandise and collaborations.
“The Blanket Shirt was one of many first merchandise in our line, and it stays certainly one of my favourite items,” says Outerknown co-founder Kelly Slater. “From the start, it was necessary to me to design and construct a shirt that was top quality, constructed from sustainable supplies, however felt classic comfortable. We might really feel the common love for the Blanket Shirt from the beginning, and it has remained unchanged ever since, with an ideal match, comfortable natural cotton and pure corozo buttons. It’s been ten years since we made the primary one, and we’re proud to companion with Keel Labs on the subsequent era of this shirt with a model constructed from Kelsun, a 100% bio-based fiber derived from seaweed. Working with suppliers that share our love for the ocean is a good match for Outerknown. I’m excited to see this develop.”
In an business that produces 21 billion tons of textile waste yearly, Kelsun capabilities as a substitute for standard, resource-intensive supplies, like standard cotton, on which vogue and textiles have lengthy relied. Keel Labs sources seaweed that’s harvested below strict sustainability pointers, complying with native harvesting calendars and portions. A biopolymer is then extracted and separated from the seaweed, forming the idea of Kelsun fibers.
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Outerknown with the primary industrial launch of Kelsun fiber,” says Keel Labs co-founder and CEO Tessa Callaghan. “At Keel Labs, we’re deeply dedicated to our mission of harnessing the potential of our oceans to create higher merchandise for individuals and planet alike. Working alongside a model like Outerknown, that shares our dedication to creating a greater world, and our steadfast love of the ocean to deliver our merchandise to life couldn’t be extra becoming. It is a pivotal second, not only for Keel Labs, however for the business as a complete, standing as a marker for what lies forward when conviction, motion and collaboration mix. This garment is the primary (although not final) of its variety, and we will’t wait to proceed sharing the evolution and growth of our partnership.”
To kick this partnership off, Outerknown hosted a celebration at their retail retailer location in Carlsbad, Calif. on Saturday, September 21, as a part of the Solento Surf Competition, with artwork, dwell music, meals and drinks. A restricted variety of Kelsun Blanket Shirts have been on show and on the market.
About Outerknown
Based in 2015 by professional surfer Kelly Slater and inventive director John Moore, Outerknown’s mission is to craft elevated, lasting wardrobe staples, empower the individuals making them, defend pure sources, and encourage business change by means of transparency and an unwavering dedication to accountable sourcing practices.
About Keel Labs
Keel Labs is a sustainable supplies firm addressing the extremely polluting techniques of textile manufacturing with aquaculture-based applied sciences. Lots of the most generally used materials right this moment are petroleum-based, and thus are reliant on fossil fuels. Even pure legacy fibers use immense quantities of water and pesticides in cultivation, and a few even use poisonous chemical compounds of their manufacturing course of.
Pushed by the exploration of novel, regenerative sources, Keel Labs is broadening our imaginative and prescient for the potential of the ocean to speed up our planet’s improvement in the direction of a extra sustainable future by means of the event of climate-focused materials options.
