Meet The Beach Lifestyle Brand Cleaning Up The Earth, One Recycled Bottle T-Shirt At A Time
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Mike Ragsdale loves the beach, so much so that he left his corporate 9-to-5 life in Birmingham, Alabama, and relocated himself and his family to Santa Rosa Beach, a small town in the Florida Panhandle that sits on a two-lane road hugging the Gulf Coast called Scenic Highway 30A. Ragsdale created a brand inspired by the carefree beach lifestyle that 30A exudes, called 30A, and it has become synonymous with the name of the road. When creating a line of apparel for the company, Ragsdale took a unique approach and decided to use fabric that blends recycled plastic bottles with cotton.
“We love the beach, so we wanted our 30A shirts to be super soft, light and casual, while also being environmentally responsible and forward-thinking,” Ragsdale said. “Our fans can't believe how incredibly soft the shirts are, especially when we tell them they're also helping to keep plastic out of our oceans.”
Since first introducing the t-shirts to 30A fans in fall 2016, the brand has sold enough shirts to keep 1.2 million plastic bottles from entering landfills and waterways, Ragsdale reported, who adds, “and we're just getting started.” Eight water bottles go into making each 30A t-shirt, and new sweatshirts launching this season are made from approximately 24 recycled plastic bottles. The line has extended to include tank tops, beach cover-ups and more.
30A’s recycled clothing line has reached far beyond quaint Santa Rosa Beach (where the shirts are printed), and is sold in 200 outdoor outfitters, lifestyle boutiques, surf shops and retail chains across the United States, in addition to three 30A-brand stores in South Walton, Florida, and online at 30Agear.com – and the list of retail partners continues to grow. On the impact of the recycled shirts from a business standpoint, Ragsdale said, “30A's recycled shirt line has enabled us to enter markets across the United States, even those quite unfamiliar with our brand. We've shipped over 100,000 online orders through 30Agear.com to consumers in all 50 states, and our 1.3 million social media fans hail from dozens of countries.”
The use of recycled material for 30A merchandise is impactful, both from an environmental and branding standpoint, as with each purchase consumers play a part in preserving the white-sand beaches and serene Gulf waters that are central to the beauty of 30A and the picturesque beach towns along it. “Our 30A brand is inspired by the small town beach life found along Florida's Gulf Coast, but unlike other brands [inspired by special places i.e. Patagonia, Columbia], our passion transcends geography. Our mission is to share our authentic love of the beach, and that passion is rapidly growing into a global movement.”
