Sealand: Gold standard for green business?

Being a green business is difficult. It can be costly, it’s time consuming, and it no longer curries much political favour. In the past year, major companies such as Meta, JPMorgan and BlackRock have all rolled back on their ESG and sustainability commitments. 

But here at home, Sealand Gear is sticking to its guns, committing to making every aspect of its business environmentally and socially responsible – and business is booming.  

Sealand Gear was founded in 2015 by two surfers, their dog and a land cruiser. Originating in Hout Bay, the brand’s heart lies in the ocean and mountains, and it is a one-stop shop for all things outdoorsy and adventurous. Its products – hats, jackets, backpacks, water bottles – are all practical, durable and, most importantly, sustainable.  

Evidently, this resonates with South Africans, and the company is now on its seventh store.

Adrian Hewlett, Sealand’s CEO, is exceedingly proud of what the company has achieved in 10 years. “Our growth has been incredible – the shift from almost backyard operation to the refined, optimised team we are today has been phenomenal,” he says.  

“Our brick-and-mortar expansion is easily visible, and the metrics we can track easily such as our sales, upcycling rates and employee satisfaction have done nothing but impress.”

Sealand has become a smoothly oiled, clean, green machine. That’s no small feat considering two-thirds of start-ups don’t make it past their first decade. 

Using mostly recycled materials for its products (it recently released a line of bags made of recycled yacht and windsurfer sails), the company employs sustainable practices across the production chain. This means choosing suppliers with the best codes of conduct, upholding a fair labour policy and checking for the cleanest transport and freighting.  

The cherry on top is that Sealand is B Corp Certified. Companies certified by B Lab meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. 

Tim Coles, Sealand’s head of sustainability, explains that this certification “covers everything – carbon accounting, impact measurement, shareholder structures, labour practice and customer care – with a focus on hard data; systems we had to put in place to ensure our impact was correctly reported on and tracked”.  

Sealand doesn’t stop there. Outside of its production chain, the brand has a number of sustainability projects running.  

One of these is “Second Wave” – its WWF-partnered recycling project. Coles explains that, with the 10-year warranty about to expire on some of its first products, Sealand decided to encourage customers to return their used Sealand bags and receive a 25% discount on a new item.   

“We needed to ensure they never end up in a landfill, but are rather brought back to life or kept in the use cycle as long as possible,” he says. 

“The returned bags are refurbished, washed and marked as second-hand items. The bags are then sold at a heavily discounted rate, and 10% of all the proceeds sent to WWF-SA for use in their conservation initiatives.” 

If the bags can’t be fixed, they are disassembled and the components are reused or recycled – not a stitch goes to waste.  

Another cause Sealand supports is the Sentinel Ocean Alliance. “It was the easiest choice – operating just down the road from us, [and] they’ve done such incredible work and are completely aligned with our goals of waste removal, education and ocean stewardship,” Coles explains.  

And then there’s the J Bay Surf Alliance, Pondoland Trust, Save A Fishie, and Bubele Africa …  

Sustainability is profitability

Running a profitable business while dedicated to sustainability is challenging, though Hewlett says it’s worth it, in more ways than one. “There are initiatives that are both sustainable and inherently profitable. Improvements in efficiency, recycling, renewables in our energy mix, employee support, circularity initiatives – these activities directly reduce our overall costs or bring returns.”  

There are certain things that don’t clear a return though, such as Sealand’s support for 1% for the Planet (an organisation where companies donate 1% of their annual revenue to environmental causes), or its use of high-quality materials, which are expensive and can go unnoticed by some aesthetic-focused customers.  

Still, says Hewlett: “These contribute to brand building, quality assurance and public perception – all necessary for a profitable business, especially with an increasingly sustainability-sensitive customer base.”  

This sensitivity is starting to emerge in consumer data. According to a study by Retail Capital, local SMEs surveyed on the benefits of incorporating sustainability into their business practices reported a significant uptick in customer relations, cost savings and brand reputation. 

Hewlett’s philosophy is that profit and sustainability need never work in opposition – “and if they are, it means either one’s approach is wrong, or the proper groundwork or education has not been done”, he says.  

“Nine times out of 10, the sustainable decision is also the profitable decision when thinking long-term.”  

For Sealand, the most difficult aspect of being a sustainable business is how behind the rest of local industry is. Hewlett explains that “access to renewables and recycling streams in Europe is far easier and more advanced, particularly in the textiles space”.  

It means Sealand has largely been on its own as a leader in the sector. Still, its plans are “big, hairy and audacious”, says Hewlett. Coles and the sustainability team are now developing their own 100% recycled fabric, for example, among a wealth of other projects.  

And they love their products, maybe more even than their customers do. It makes their enthusiasm infectious. Coles raves about Sealand’s Heritage Bedouin Bloc Bag – “the sexiest bag on the market” – as well as its gilet, which helps him out when he needs to look like a finance bro for meetings.  

Hewlett’s favourite pieces meanwhile are the commuter backpacks – “sleek enough for any boardroom, super functional and (of course) responsibly created”.  

Doomerism about climate change is increasingly pervasive, and easy to fall into. But with businesses as active, vocal and alive as Sealand on the market, perhaps some of that existential fear about the future can be beaten back.