Before the holidays, I had the privilege of sitting down (virtually!) with Kerry Docherty, Co-Founder of Faherty Brand, who for the last ten years has spearheaded Faherty’s impact initiatives. We talked about the brand’s impact, values, and approach to leadership. Surfrider and Faherty have been proud partners for nearly 10 years, working together to host beach cleanups across the country, build and strengthen communities of climate activists, and through Faherty’s monetary support, help advance our mission toward nearly 1,000 Coastal Victories.
Kerry has been at the helm of Faherty since the beginning, and her influence on the organization is evident. At a time when the narrative around the environment can often feel disheartening, our conversation offered a rare sense of climate optimism. Kerry reminded us that we are united not just by our shared values, but also by the beautiful messiness of being human.
Janie: For those who don’t know you, can you please introduce yourself, your background, and your role as Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer at Faherty- a nearly 10 year and truly appreciated Surfrider national corporate partner?
Kerry: 10 years, wow! I'm Kerry Docherty, and I'm a co-founder of Faherty with my husband and brother-in-law, so we’re proud to be a family business. My background before being at Faherty was focused on human rights and social justice. I was a lawyer, went to Pepperdine School of Law, and also got very into mindfulness. I never thought that I would be in clothing or the fashion industry, but a couple years after clerking for a judge and teaching mindfulness, Alex and Mike decided it was time to begin their dream of starting the brand, and it was all hands on deck. I joined a few months after they launched. And, you know, when you're a part of a startup, you wear many, many hats. I was PR, HR, fit model, marketing. Over the years, [I] was really able to weave in my passion for impact into the ethos of the brand, which I’m profoundly grateful for.
Janie: What would you say has been a career highlight for you?
Kerry: The thing that brings me the most joy and inspiration is the relationships I’ve formed over the years, particularly my deep friendship with our Native partners. I wouldn't say I have the best business acumen in the sense of financial accountability or P&Ls, but I love people. The thing that keeps me from becoming too depleted these days is being in relationships with incredible people who are committed to making the world a better place in whatever way they can.
Janie: With that, how does Faherty determine what causes to support? Is it something that comes naturally through building these relationships or is it very intentional?
Kerry: Because we're a family business and we own the business, we don't have outside private equity funding. We have a lot of flexibility to support organizations that we're organically drawn to. Alex and Mike grew up surfing. I grew up on Lake Erie. The water has always been our happy place. When we thought about environmental organizations to support, Surfrider –for all of us– was at the forefront of our minds. With my law background, I also appreciate that it's very rare for an organization to be able to have such a strong grassroots community presence like Surfrider while also partaking in high-level policy and legal work at the same time. In sum, Surfrider checked all the boxes for us.
In terms of the launch of our Native initiatives –that stemmed from deepening our understanding on how the fashion industry historically exploited Native communities by using “Native-inspired” prints. We are committed to ending appropriation in fashion and have worked for a decade with Native artists to co-create beautiful pieces that ensure resources flow back to the Native community. Some of the other types of organizations we support, again, stem from personal connections. We’ve supported The Center (an LGBTQIA+ safehouse and community center) in New York for years, and that connection stemmed from one of our team members going there in his youth. Many other organizations we support come from friends and family and also having such a diverse team and hearing what issues matter to them. We have been told at times to narrow down the types of organizations we support, but right now we’re very heart and people led.
Janie: Something that was in your 2023 impact report that I really loved was this quote “The clothing industry is inherently extractive and unsustainable, and we have found that the only way to exist in it is to be in partnership with organizations, individuals, and communities who dream of and show up in better ways.” I love this quote because I think it's beautiful –the acknowledgement that this is inherently bad and what can be done about it. How did you come to this solution? And what would you say are some of the proudest achievements that have come through your partnerships?
Kerry: I think it's just holding ourselves accountable and being honest as to what is happening. I don't even like to use the word sustainable. I use it because I don't know if we have a better term for it right now in the vernacular as a way that lets the consumer understand what we’re trying to do, but at the end of the day, no clothing company is inherently sustainably: we make things that people don’t need. And the reality is that the world does not need more clothing. So, at Faherty, we have an option: we can either not make clothing and just find a completely different industry or category to be in, or we can look at the market and think “let’s see how we can do this better.” We believe that we can be leaders in the field. We believe that we can slowly push the envelope, similar to Patagonia. And also, [Patagonia] just came out with their impact report acknowledging all the ways that they're falling short, while still being industry leaders. I think honesty is the best place to start. I think that level of accountability lends itself to more credibility.
Janie: With everything that's happening in the world and how we can feel a climate change doom mindset, how do you inspire the team at Faherty to stay motivated and determined to protect and care for the environment as well as other social justice issues?
Kerry: I am someone that deeply believes that action is the antidote to despair. We know the reality of the climate crisis: science has clearly told us what's happening. With that truth, how are we looking at the decisions we make on a day-to-day basis and try to do things more consciously? The more that we think about the smaller scale day-to-day decisions and realize we're all contributors in the collective, the less overwhelming the arc of necessary change feels. I am so proud of our team, and everyone has a level of accountability at Faherty about making their corner of the brand better. That's not just from a production perspective in terms of sourcing lower impact materials, but also in what it feels like to walk into one of our stores. Our Faherty store team is the best in the business. They're inclusive. They are kind. It's unlike normal retail, you know, where you walk in and people don't even look at you. I really believe that when you let people feel like they belong somewhere, when you remind people that they matter and understand that life is hard and we need each other, it's the nourishment that keeps all of us going. Culturally we have tried to create a company where people love on each other –internally and externally.
Janie: That is something that has been so evident through our work with Faherty. Every time we do a beach cleanup with a local retail store, our Surfrider chapters come back talking about what a great experience they had and how welcome they felt by everyone at the store. Even the customers who just happened to be at the store at the same time we were doing a Surfrider get-together, [the Faherty retail team was] inviting the customers in and telling them about Surfrider.
Janie: Do you have any advice to fellow climate activists, I'm including myself in this, who may feel guilty about being a consumer in today's world, such as needing to buy clothes or traveling by car or by plane? I think we can get bogged down by these individual actions and lose sight of the bigger mission. Do you have any advice for people who are grappling with this?
Kerry: I think there's a difference between accountability and guilt. By design, huge corporations who are responsible for the majority of pollutants, carbon emissions, et cetera, have put the onus on individuals to distract from who the biggest perpetrators are. I understand that the people who are perpetrating the biggest harm to the planet right now are not the individuals sitting in their home trying to figure out what to do with the spinach plastic container they bought. We need individual action, but we also need our corporations to be accountable and support brands and leaders who are making the right decisions. I can hold two things at once: the larger inequitable and exploitative systems at play, and also the ways I personally play into these systems. I know I have a level of accountability. I have a brand that is outputting a lot of things into the world. But I also know whenever I have guilt or shame, I actually just shut down. I'm not inspired to be better. So for me, it's a little bit of psychological warfare that I play with myself, which is I want to hold myself accountable and be better, and also I want to have self-compassion. And accountability is in the day-to-day decisions: where am I spending my energy? How am I spending my money? Can I make a better decision here? Is there a better way? What are the consequences to what I do?
Janie: Are there any unexpected places that your role at Faherty has taken you that have broadened your perspective or have influenced your goals about company culture?
Kerry: For sure. All of us are multifaceted beings and it’s hard to compartmentalize our passions and purpose. I have spent the past two years working on my memoir ,exploring a lot of my past experiences –in business, family, marriage, motherhood, and creativity– and reflecting on how intertwined all of our humanities are and all the ways we can be both selfish and selfless at any given time. Surfrider is actually featured in the book! In 2020, I visited the Surfrider office and Chad [Nelsen, Surfrider CEO] was sharing this idea that “there is no away” –whatever has currently been made in the world will continue to exist. There's nowhere “else” we can put it: all of it ends back in the land or the sea or the air. I think about that both in terms of the things that we create at Faherty, and I also think about it in terms of experience and trauma and emotions that all of us deal with on a day to day basis. So often we think if we don't process or deal with things they’ll magically go away, but actually these things–feelings, resentments, fears, grief–can be buried within us, and we're going to have to excavate it and move through it eventually. In writing this book, I've really come to learn that truth telling is the most selfish thing that we can do. The act of being like, “this is my truth, I will voice what is important to me, and I hope in being as true to myself as possible, it will also be a gift to others.” I’m a big believer in the power of authenticity: to own all of our messiness, our complications, and our limitations. I'm so fatigued by aspiration and so inspired by people who are not afraid to tell the truth of who they are. And the same for companies: again, can we all own where we are, as people and as companies?
Janie: Kerry, is there anything that you wanted to share beyond what we've already talked about?
Kerry: My life mantra has very much become: tell the truth, try your best, and keep showing up and doing the work, regardless of whether you're getting credit for it or not, or whether people see it or not.
And also, lean into what feels good: and I don’t mean the things that bring pleasure, but rather lean into the things that make you feel most alive. It feels good to me when I am making decisions that feel aligned with my values. Similar to what you were saying when people go to a beach cleanup and they go to Faherty - it feels good to be in a community and feel a sense of belonging and to feel like you did something today that is somehow benefiting us all. It feels better making better supply chain decisions, making clothes that last longer, and having internal policies that make our team feel seen. It feels good to believe in optimism and to act in accordance with your values. It feels good to be in close connection with others. It feels good to serve. Lean into that feeling of goodness.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank Kerry and the team at Faherty for their enduring support of Surfrider. Kerry’s genuine spirit and authentic dedication to doing good inspire us to rise out of the weight of self-judgement and into meaningful action. To explore the brand visit fahertybrand.com