Photo credits: Adam Walker
In celebration of our third year of partnership with Sanuk we invite you to behold our latest collaborative creation in all its glory… the Sanuk x Surfrider Protect Your Happy Place Towel, made possible by our friends at Nomadix. Sanuk’s beliefs in protecting the places we play runs deep in their products and community, and as such the company has made it a part of their company culture to participate in Surfrider's mission.
Just as Sanuks aren’t your average kicks and Surfrider isn’t your average non-profit, this are not your average towel. In celebration of this speical little collab, we are excited to go behind-the-seams with Adam Walker of Sanuk interviewing Mr. Zack Helminiak, a Nomadix Co-Founder, to learn more about why we think you’ll love this towel as much as we do. And did we mention, all sales from this beauty will directly protect the ocean, waves, and beaches we all care about.
SANUK: Zack! Thanks for joining us. We’re beyond excited to share this new towel with the masses. Tell us a little bit about how Nomadix came to be…
ZACK: The co-founders met working in the Rockies for the winter, and spent the next few years traveling, camping, doing yoga, boating, and surfing. Through that experience we discovered that one of the most important pieces of gear is a towel, and that no existing towel could hold up to that lifestyle. We launched The Only Towel You Need as the answer to this problem. Now you can buy one Nomadix towel instead of three or four activity specific towels. It’s the ultimate, go-anywhere, quick dry, absorbent, anti-sand, durable, packable, soft-to-the-touch towel that works for any activity. If you are going to own one towel, this is the one.
SANUK: Um, #brilliant. We love ours! If you had to describe your creations in only 3 words…
ZACK: Sustainability through versatility.
SANUK: So the folks at home know… What goes into making one of your towels? Or more importantly, what doesn’t?
ZACK: The apparel industry (including towels) is the second most polluting industry behind oil. It takes an average 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton t-shirt. When apparel (and towels) are dyed, the waste water runoff dyes local water sources the color of that apparel, making it unsafe for the local community. On top of that, our consumption of throw-away, “fast” fashion – and therefore resource consumption – is only increasing.
Nomadix towels are made of a proprietary polyester-nylon blend. The polyester is made from certified post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, according to Global Recycle Standard and we add nylon to give it particular performance attributes. One thing that sets us apart from other towels and apparel is that we print our patterns, we don’t dye them. This prevents tremendous amounts of waste water from entering the local watershed.
This is not a throw-away product. Nomadix towels are designed to be eco-friendly, versatile, durable and long lasting.
*Note, if you're interested in how you can reduce hte impact of microfibers while maintaining the product, you can check out this Coastal Blog.
SANUK: What’s your favorite part about working at Nomadix?
ZACK: We are building a company that is triple bottom line – good for the environment, good for our employees, and good for investors. It’s exciting to build a company and a team that will leave the world a better place. We recently joined 1% for the Planet to double down on that commitment and join a community of like-minded people and companies. It is amazing to watch the change in consumer behavior and the community mindset as time goes on – everyone at Nomadix is excited.
SANUK: Now that’s a trifecta! What does the phrase, “doing well while doing good” mean to you?
ZACK: It means having fun and living a fulfilled life without harming the environment. In your personal life, it can mean reducing the amount of waste you create, making lower-impact, sustainable choices with how you eat, or commute, or interact with the community. In business, it can mean creating something new out of consumer waste or partnering with a local non-profit to give back. Doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive, they are stronger together.
SANUK: What are you most looking forward to about getting this towel out to the masses?
ZACK: The most exciting thing about getting these towels in someone’s hands is to see where they take it. We get photos from all over the world of people backpacking Asia and South America, doing yoga in Scandinavia, off-roading in Africa, lounging in Palm Springs… the list goes on. It will be exciting to see where this one ends up.
Pack it. Drape it. Roll it. Love it!
The future is bright. Sea yew there!
You can grab one of these limited edition towels HERE! Nap easy knowing all sales will directly protect the ocean, waves, and beaches through the Surfrider Foundation.
Follow Nomadix on Instagram at @NOMADIXCO and visit their world at WWW.NOMADIX.CO. And while you’re at it, follow SANUK and SURFRIDER if you’re not already.