Just two weeks after his company was sold to Columbia Sportswear Company for $190 million, Beaver Theodosakis, the founder of Carlsbad-based prAna was at the Chamber to speak to the Sustainability Committee about the way his company pioneered the way that companies can adopt sustainable principles.
Theodosakis and his wife, Pam, started prAna out of their Carlsbad garage 22 years ago. Even in those early days, the company adopted sustainable practices.
"Reclaimed and reused," Theodosakis said, "that's been in our ethos since the beginning."
Theodosakis collected old newspapers and recycled them in his backyard to make product labels. He would also ship his product in discarded produce boxes he got from nearby grocery stores. His first store displays used wood from old pallets and rusted steel.
However, Theodosakis added, the company did not know how these "fun ideas" could be adopted on a larger scale until the year 2000, when he and his wife attended an "organic exchange" where other companies discussed how to make goods more sustainable. They learned about organic cotton, hemp, recycling other fabrics.
"We were so inspired that on the drive home … we changed 19 of our conventional cotton styles to organic cotton using the sources we got out of that meeting," he said. "It was really exciting."
These days, prAna takes a comprehensive approach to sustainability, one that runs through all aspects of the company, focusing on the materials used to make prAna products, the materials and energy used to run the company and ensuring that those who work for the company and its vendors are treated fairly.
"Our goal is to make a positive impact on the environment in all aspects of the supply chain," Theodosakis said.
Its Carlsbad headquarters, while not officially LEED certified, would qualify for silver certification. The company has greatly reduced its use of plastic bags to ship its products (it shipped 3 million items last year) and it purchases renewal energy credits to offset the energy used by its facility and its employees. It also has worked with other companies to establish a "fair trade apparel" designation, one that does business only with vendors that treat its employees fairly. The company conducts regular site visits to the factories where products are made to make sure workers are treated well.
"We're certainly not experts," Theodosakis said. "We're learning every day and sharing as much as we can with others. The beautiful thing is that this is part of the ethos of our company. This is not a top-down approach."
Theodosakis said that companies wishing to adopt sustainable practices need their approaches to be authentic, and that efforts should come from all ranks of the organization.
He said that even though adopting sustainable practices can be more costly, if they resonate with a company's consumers then they can be good business.
"Why do we do these things?" he asked. "It feels right for us and our community and the ethos of our brand. We inspire others and it builds longtime customer loyalty."
Theodosakis said his hope is that Columbia Sportswear can adopt some of prAna's practices.
"We hope the tail can wag the dog and we can share some of the things we learned in sustainability with their other brands," he said. "I think they're very open minded about taking some of the things we've learned, so now a little $100 million company can help a $2 billion company."
Theodosakis and his wife, Pam, started prAna out of their Carlsbad garage 22 years ago. Even in those early days, the company adopted sustainable practices.
"Reclaimed and reused," Theodosakis said, "that's been in our ethos since the beginning."
Theodosakis collected old newspapers and recycled them in his backyard to make product labels. He would also ship his product in discarded produce boxes he got from nearby grocery stores. His first store displays used wood from old pallets and rusted steel.
However, Theodosakis added, the company did not know how these "fun ideas" could be adopted on a larger scale until the year 2000, when he and his wife attended an "organic exchange" where other companies discussed how to make goods more sustainable. They learned about organic cotton, hemp, recycling other fabrics.
"We were so inspired that on the drive home … we changed 19 of our conventional cotton styles to organic cotton using the sources we got out of that meeting," he said. "It was really exciting."
These days, prAna takes a comprehensive approach to sustainability, one that runs through all aspects of the company, focusing on the materials used to make prAna products, the materials and energy used to run the company and ensuring that those who work for the company and its vendors are treated fairly.
"Our goal is to make a positive impact on the environment in all aspects of the supply chain," Theodosakis said.
Its Carlsbad headquarters, while not officially LEED certified, would qualify for silver certification. The company has greatly reduced its use of plastic bags to ship its products (it shipped 3 million items last year) and it purchases renewal energy credits to offset the energy used by its facility and its employees. It also has worked with other companies to establish a "fair trade apparel" designation, one that does business only with vendors that treat its employees fairly. The company conducts regular site visits to the factories where products are made to make sure workers are treated well.
"We're certainly not experts," Theodosakis said. "We're learning every day and sharing as much as we can with others. The beautiful thing is that this is part of the ethos of our company. This is not a top-down approach."
Theodosakis said that companies wishing to adopt sustainable practices need their approaches to be authentic, and that efforts should come from all ranks of the organization.
He said that even though adopting sustainable practices can be more costly, if they resonate with a company's consumers then they can be good business.
"Why do we do these things?" he asked. "It feels right for us and our community and the ethos of our brand. We inspire others and it builds longtime customer loyalty."
Theodosakis said his hope is that Columbia Sportswear can adopt some of prAna's practices.
"We hope the tail can wag the dog and we can share some of the things we learned in sustainability with their other brands," he said. "I think they're very open minded about taking some of the things we've learned, so now a little $100 million company can help a $2 billion company."