From Bottles to Board Shorts: Saving the Planet a Swimsuit at a Time
I recently spoke with Jake Danehy, CEO of Fair Harbor Clothing. Jake and his sister/co-founder, Caroline, grew up playing in the sand and enjoying all the ocean had to offer. Their connection with the ocean only grew as they began to grow and understand the importance of reducing waste and living a minimal lifestyle.
After realizing the major problems and implications of plastic waste, coupled with their love for the ocean, they came up with the idea to start Fair Harbor Clothing.
What is the “backstory” behind Fair Harbor?
Fair Harbor is the name of the beach town on Fire Island, off the coast of Long Island, where our family spent summers. It’s essentially a glorified sandbar, where no cars are allowed and everyone rides around on weathered bicycles. It’s a really small community that lives simplistically and inclusively.
Situated between the bay and the ocean, we witnessed a lot of plastic waste wash up on the beaches of Fair Harbor. Once I had studied extensively about the negative effects of plastic waste in the ocean, Caroline and I decided we needed to do something to keep the waters clean and protect beach communities like Fair Harbor. Swimwear was a natural fit. After learning about the technology to convert plastic bottles into a functional fabric, making swimwear spoke to our childhoods at the beach, wearing board shorts and bathing suits all day to surf, swim, fish, lounge, and so on.
We first pitched Fair Harbor at a mock Shark Tank competition at our school, Colgate University, which was organized through their entrepreneurship program called Thought Into Action. The panel of celebrity entrepreneurs included Jessica Alba, Neil Blumenthal, MC Hammer, Jennifer Hyman, and more — in front of a 2,000 person audience.
The pitch, in 2015, came before anyone really knew that the technology to convert recycled plastic bottles into apparel even existed. While on stage, I held a plastic bottle and asked if they could imagine turning it into these (as I held up a pair of board shorts). People were in awe, including Jessica Alba and Jennifer Hyman who are in fashion. From that competition, we were awarded $20,000 for our first production run. Thereafter, in 2015 we successfully raised 225% of our initial funding goal through a Kickstarter Campaign.
Set your expectations right from the start and always be straight forward.
Have you always been environmentally conscious?
Caroline has always been particularly passionate about the environment. We brainstormed different ways we could personally have an impact on this, and through our research discovered a polyester material made from recycled plastic bottles. It was a no brainer from there.
What do you think makes Fair Harbor clothing stand out? Can you share a story about the success you’ve had thus far?
I would say that our omni channel approach and the way that we have bootstrapped has helped our initial success. Over the past 4 years we have done around 300 trunk shows, traveling around, selling our products and pitching everyone and anyone that would listen. If we were not given that opportunity to pitch our initial customers and get out there, it would have been a lot harder to make our initial sales. Especially hard to stand out as an eCommerce company, but the fact that we were able to engage directly with our customers was everything.
We want to reshape how consumers view single use plastic, and be at the forefront of the conversation happening around making changes to mitigate plastic pollution in our waters.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading Fair Harbor clothing?
In 2015, we had a launch party for the first pair of board shorts we released. The velcro from the shorts came off when I went to the bathroom and I thought, “holy crap!.” Unfortunately, the factory had glued down the pieces instead of sewing them into the shorts.
Are you planning any exciting or special projects?
We just released a ton of new product this spring: all new styles and color ways of our original board shorts and swim trunks (made with 11 recycled plastic bottles each), a performance board short and athletic short made of a blend of recycled polyester (plastic bottles) and upcycled coconuts, as well as a collaboration capsule collection with photographer, Johnny Vacay, of digitally printed board shorts. Above all, the most significant new drop was our debut women’s swim collection, which was spearheaded and designed by Caroline, naturally.
This summer we have a lot of events and activations in the pipeline, all along the East Coast. We do tons of trunk shows in all our markets to spread the word and really integrate within the local communities — especially smaller beach towns like Fair Harbor.
What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?
Set your expectations right from the start and always be straight forward. At first, I ran into the issue of not explaining myself enough and what my true expectations were. I now resort to over communication until you find a great rhythm and communication.
Is there someone in particular who helped get you to where you are?
There have been so many people that have helped me along the way and only mentioning one would not give it justice. From our TIA incubator program at Colgate, to the countless mentors that have wanted us to be successful along the way. I would say one person who I am especially grateful towards is Ken Giddon from Rothmans. Ken let us sell our shorts at his store and guided us how to start an apparel company right from the start. Ken is one of the most successful retailers in New York City and inherently the country. Just out of the goodness of his heart, he let us sell in his store, set up trunk shows and set up during his sidewalk sale. Without Ken’s immediate generosity and support, it would have been very hard to get started.
If there was one person in the world you could choose to surf with, who would it be?
Rob Machado, in my opinion he is the most fun surfer to watch and would love to learn a thing or two. He surfs so effortlessly and gracefully.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I think, inherently, in creating this brand we not only wanted to produce the best board shorts possible, but also simultaneously raise awareness around the issue of plastic waste. We want to reshape how consumers view single use plastic, and be at the forefront of the conversation happening around making changes to mitigate plastic pollution in our waters.
Promote vindication of plastic waste on our planet. Want to create products that people want to enjoy and have fun with. Brave the winter, and wait for summer.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote” or favorite saying?
“Keep your eyes on the stars and feet on the ground.” Teddy Roosevelt
What’s your advice for new or aspiring entrepreneurs?
Do it. Fail quickly. Keep going and bite the bullet. Stay positive. Keep trucking. You’re going to make mistakes, and that’s how you learn.
Check out the Fair Harbor blog, Keep It Clean, for more about their team, cool trips, products, and views on waste & keeping it eco-friendly. You can also follow them on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for regular updates.
