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Sustainability

Adam Brown on Orlebar Brown's ocean-positive, carbon-negative ambitions

In our latest extract from Country & Town House's Great British Brands Zero publication, Orlebar Brown's founder Adam Brown talks about the sustainability strategy behind his cult beach-to-bar brand – one where he's encouraging his customers to 'holiday better'
16th Mar 2022
Sustainability Adam Brown on Orlebar Brown's ocean-positive, carbon-negative ambitions

Orlebar Brown committed to becoming more sustainable in 2018 and is working with external auditors to review its carbon emissions, aiming to become a carbon negative brand, with all products and business operations carbon neutral, by the end of 2021. Single-use plastic has been eliminated from its supply chain, replaced by 100 per cent recycled and recyclable plastic. As part of its ‘Measure, Reduce, Balance’ approach, Orlebar Brown partners with Sea Trees and invests in blue carbon projects that sequester carbon from the atmosphere, enabling it to become a carbon-negative, ocean-positive brand.

 
 
 
 

In 2015, founder Adam Brown (above) felt a ‘niggle’ about the fact that his brand encourages people to go on holiday, involving planes, yachts and hotels, all of which contribute to environmental degradation. ‘It didn’t sit well,’ he says, ‘but becoming sustainable was frightening and expensive for a small business. I saw businesses just paying sustainability lip service and I couldn’t bear to do that – I wanted to be authentic.’

Then came Orlebar Brown’s big moment in 2018, when Chanel bought it. ‘Chanel asked how we saw our brand’s future and we came up with the idea of “holiday better”. Travel can serve a purpose. Encountering different people and cultures stops you being inward-looking. I get frustrated seeing private jets and superyachts on social media. To us, travel’s not about that; it’s the best times with family and friends, transformative for your mind and mood. It can have a positive impact on the planet. The messaging took some ironing out, but it had to be more than just about frolicking on the beach. Sustainability’s crucial to that vision,’ he says.

‘Putting a reduction strategy plan in place brought us all together and we worked out how far people travelled to the office and re-sourced our suppliers and packaging, now made in Wales. In the early days we sat round a table listening to people but didn’t know how to fact-check what we were being told, so finding the right experts was essential.’

Some of the dyes used a lot of water and its swim shorts were essentially polyester. ‘We needed to find a new sustainable fabric that didn’t compromise the product,’ says Adam. ‘We went through many iterations and today our shorts are made of industrial waste, like carpet and rubber tubing. We’re working on a report measuring the amount of organic cotton we’re using but we’re well ahead of our targets.’

The most intimidating thing from Orlebar Brown’s perspective was that achieving sustainability seemed to require an all-or-nothing approach. ‘We were afraid to speak publicly about our sustainability strategies and goals, as we feared being shot down,’ says Adam. ‘Unlike other initiatives, we are taking a generational approach to sustainability, an ambitious long view – to be continuously better, not perfect. There will always be more to learn, and we’ll make mistakes along the way. Being open about this with ourselves and our customers has opened up more space for innovation.’

Orlebar Brown conducts an annual survey and discovered its customers really care about sustainability and would even pay more to be certain of their product’s origins. ‘We’re also encouraging people to travel more sustainably and supporting positive mental health initiatives,’ says Adam. ‘Consumers like brands with a point of view, like Finisterre or Allbirds, and my long-term dream is that our customers will trust the opinions of everyone working in our boutiques and ask for their recommendations about an unspoilt beauty spot or the loveliest walk. That way we’ll be true to our “holiday better” mantra.’ 

orlebarbrown.com

Great British Brands ZERO has partnered with Walpole to talk to 26 luxury leaders from Walpole member brands about how they are changing their businesses to help fight climate change and save our planet.
Click here to read a digital copy of the magazine

 

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