Two UK brothers combine their love for surfing and the environment to make ethically hip clothes.

Images: rapanuiclothing.com

What started as an underground UK T-shirt factory in 2008 by two brothers who loved to surf is now a full-fledged eco-fashion brand that inspires our younger generation to go green. The company is called Rapanui Clothing, and it’s the brainchild of brothers Mart and Rob Drake-Knight. The brothers wanted to create a company that addressed the human, environmental and climatic impact of their product, so they took their degrees in Business Administration and Renewable Energy and started Rapanui!

First of all, what makes this company so great is the overall greenness of its clothing. Some of the Rapanui’s sustainable solutions include:

• A traceability in textiles section on the website where you can actually trace the origin of your product.
• The factory is “Fairwear Foundation Audited,” which means that the farmers and the factory workers are always being paid a proper wage in clean, safe working conditions at reasonable working hours.
• Clothing is made with all natural and organic fabrics like bamboo¸ cotton and hemp.
• The company uses an eco labeling system that allows the customer to see “the net product life cycle of a product's environmental and social impact in a single glance.”

The company also recently added a wind turbine to power its UK factory, which means that reducing its overall carbon emissions is a top priority. This priority actually what got the brothers a first place at the 2010 Sustainable Business Awards and runners-up place for the 2010 Enterprising Young Brits awards.



Above are brothers Mart and Rob, founders of Rapanui Clothing.

Here are the English brothers talking about their eco vision for Rapanui:



Now that you know about the company you should definitely see some of the clothes that it makes.  Here are a few of my favorite pieces of green apparel:











Want to see more cool clothes?  Check out the Rapanui Mens and Womens collections.
I personally LOVE what the Drake-Knight brothers are doing with their clothing and their entire company, and I hope that they continue to be leaders for future green-minded companies.

You can stay up-to-date with Rapanui Clothing by following them on Twitter and Facebook.