Vipe Desai has worn numerous hats in his career in the surf industry, but perhaps the one that has drawn the most passion from him is the non-profit he founded, Project Blue, which raises funds for local beaches through the sale of specially made product from partner companies including Dakine, Billabong, O’Neill, Electric and Nixon. As part of our State of Sustainability series, we caught up with Desai to discuss the biggest challenges faced by brands moving towards sustainability and how to make eco-friendly products move at retail.
What have been the biggest challenges in helping to move your business and the industry towards sustainability?
Communication to consumers is one of the bigger challenges, especially at retail. In surf, most of the major apparel guys already have some environmentally friendly product out there, but at many retailers, they tend to blend in with everything else.
If you look back to women’s apparel at retail in specialty surf, roughly fifteen years ago, there was a lot of apprehension in dedicating a section of the floor to it. But for the expanding lines to succeed, they needed their own sections in stores so women could find the clothes they were looking for.
When it comes to environmentally friendly products, the price needs to be right, the quality and design need to be as good as what else is on the market and just as important, consumers need to be able to find them easily as they’re browsing the racks.
Where do you think we are as an industry as far as actually walking the talk versus simply green washing ourselves to sell products?
We’re getting there, but obviously we have a long way collectively to go. The brands that started out with an eye on the environment have an obvious head start over the ones that didn’t.
People have to realize that most major companies are big ships and can’t change direction easily. We’ll get there, but it’s going to have to come incrementally and in steps sometimes smaller than many people would like them to be.
If you want to see change faster, then start voting more with your wallet. Focus your purchases on sustainable and recycled products, regardless of if it’s by your favorite brand or not. Get on Facebook and tell your friends about things you saw at retail you thought were cool. Spread the message. Brands will listen.
Interview by Mike Lewis Transworld Business
