Outerknown
Quick verdict: Outerknown publishes more about where its clothes come from than almost anyone in this category, and two of the suppliers it names check out at the certifying bodies. It’s also credited across the internet with certifications it doesn’t personally hold, which is worth untangling before you buy. Our rating: 4.1 out of 5.
Who they are
Kelly Slater co-founded Outerknown in 2015, announced the year before with Kering as launch partner, and built it around the idea that a surf brand ought to be able to explain its own supply chain. It’s run out of Culver City, California. Since May 2024 it has sat under a single Kelly Slater holding company alongside Firewire Surfboards and Slater Designs, with Dylan Slater as chief executive.
One thing we could not settle: whether Kering still holds a stake. It was the launch partner in 2014, the company doesn’t appear anywhere on Kering’s own site today, and no filing or report we found names a current holding. Our swimwear roundup has been describing Kering as a minority shareholder, and we can’t stand that up, so we’re saying what we know instead of repeating it.
What they get right
They name their suppliers, and the names hold up. Outerknown lists its factories, which is the step almost every brand skips. We took two of them to the issuing bodies. VT Garment Company in Thailand is a current Fair Trade Certified factory in Fair Trade USA’s own register. Bergman Rivera in Peru is a current GOTS certified supplier in the GOTS database. Those are real, checkable, and they’re the reason this profile scores where it does.
Real numbers, year over year. Preferred fibers went from 87 percent to 95 percent of the range. Twenty-eight acres converted to Regenerative Organic Certified cotton. Ten tons of that cotton off the 2022 harvest. You can argue with the targets. You can’t say they’re hiding behind adjectives.
Fair Labor Association accreditation since 2015. That’s an outside body assessing how the company runs its labor compliance program, which is a different and more useful thing than a certificate on a single fabric.
The swim is ECONYL and the clothes are good. Regenerated nylon from recovered fishing nets, in trunks and suits that don’t announce themselves as eco. See our swimwear roundup for how it compares.
Where they fall short
The Fair Trade certificate is the factory’s, not the brand’s. This is the important one. Outerknown is not listed in Fair Trade USA’s partner directory. Its Thai factory is. That’s still meaningful, because a certified factory is where the labor standard actually lands, but “Outerknown is Fair Trade Certified” is not a sentence anyone should write, ours included. It’s the same mistake as reading an EWG score as EWG Verified.
The B Corp certification isn’t there. Outerknown is described as a B Corp all over the internet and does not appear in B Lab’s directory under any name or slug we tried, while the same search returned dozens of live results for similar company names. We don’t know why, and nothing public explains it, so all we’ll say is what’s checkable: it isn’t listed today.
One named supplier doesn’t verify. Serflex in Peru, which Outerknown describes as GOTS approved, returns no records in the GOTS database. The database does warn that certifiers are still migrating data, so this may be a lag rather than a lapse. It’s still an open thread.
It’s expensive. Swim runs $74 to $168 and the rest of the range sits above that. The clothes are made to last, which is the argument, but there’s no getting around the entry price.
What they sell and what it costs
Swim trunks and suits, shirts, jeans, knitwear and outerwear. Swim is $74 to $168; jeans and sweaters run higher. Firmly $$$.
Who it’s actually for
Buy Outerknown if you want ocean-minded clothing and you want to be able to check the claims yourself. The supply-chain disclosure is the product feature here as much as the ECONYL is.
If you want the certifications on the company rather than on its factories, Patagonia holds B Corp and Fair Trade Certified in its own name and makes the tougher swim. If you want a smaller, founder-owned alternative in the same water, Seea is cut for surfing and sewn in California.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate relationship on our side. End-of-season markdowns on swim are substantial and the cuts carry over between years.
Related reading
- The Best Sustainable Swimwear Brands for Guilt-Free Summers
- What ECONYL Recycled Nylon Actually Is
- Our Greenwashing Guide
Frequently asked questions
Is Outerknown Fair Trade Certified?
Not as a company. Outerknown does not appear in Fair Trade USA’s partner directory. Its Thai manufacturer, VT Garment Company, is a current Fair Trade Certified factory in that same register, which means the standard applies where the sewing happens. That’s a real thing and it’s worth having. It just isn’t the same claim as the brand holding the certification itself.
Is Outerknown a B Corp?
Not in B Lab’s directory today. The brand is widely described as one, and we could not find it listed under any company name or slug we tried, while control searches on the same directory returned results normally. Nothing public explains the absence, so we’re not guessing at a reason.
Who owns Outerknown?
Since May 2024 it has been part of a Kelly Slater holding company that also contains Firewire Surfboards and Slater Designs, run by chief executive Dylan Slater. Kering was the launch partner when the brand was announced in 2014. Whether Kering retains a stake today is something we could not verify from any filing or company statement.
What is ECONYL and does Outerknown use it?
ECONYL is nylon regenerated from waste including recovered fishing nets, and yes, Outerknown’s swim range uses it. It performs like virgin nylon without the new petroleum, and it can be recycled again later. It doesn’t solve microplastic shedding, which is a property of the fiber rather than of where the fiber came from.