Fair Harbor

Packaging

Fair Harbor’s public information on product packaging is limited. The brand does not highlight using plastic-free or compostable packaging on its site, nor have they disclosed specific initiatives to minimize packaging waste.

Material Sustainability

The company has repurposed over 37 million plastic bottles into its apparel to date, with an average of about 12 post-consumer bottles recycled per garment. Most of the brand’s swim trunks are made from a high proportion of recycled polyester (e.g. roughly 88% recycled PET with 12% spandex for stretch in one popular style), and another trunk line utilizes 88% recycled nylon blended with elastane.

Beyond swimwear, Fair Harbor incorporates sustainable natural fibers: many of its shirts and hoodies use blends of organic cotton and recycled polyester (often around 60–70% organic cotton to 30–40% recycled poly). The brand also sources Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton, indicating support for more sustainable farming practices.

Fair Harbor has innovated with fabrics like “Seawool,” a yarn made from recycled plastic bottles and oyster shell byproduct, which gives performance benefits (antibacterial, insulating) while reusing waste materials.

Energy Use and Footprint

When it comes to energy use and carbon footprint, Fair Harbor’s efforts are not prominently detailed. There is no public evidence that the company has implemented renewable energy in its supply chain or set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Management

On the positive side, the brand is literally built on turning waste (plastic bottles, oyster shells) into wearable products, which helps keep plastic out of landfills and oceans. However, in terms of manufacturing and product lifecycle, there is no indication that Fair Harbor has a formal zero-waste program or product take-back/recycling scheme. We have not seen evidence that the company minimizes textile off-cuts in production or recycles scraps into new products (e.g. no mention of upcycling fabric waste or a repair/repurpose service for old garments). Likewise, at end-of-life, customers are not given a recycling option specific to the brand’s products.

Business Model

Fair Harbor has woven sustainability into its business model, but it still operates within a traditional retail framework. The company was founded explicitly as an ethical, purpose-driven brand with the mission of protecting coastal environments. Achieving B Corp status required formalizing many practices and adds accountability in the governance structure, which is a notable strength of the business model. On the other hand, Fair Harbor is a growing apparel brand that relies on selling new products seasonally, which inherently creates environmental impact. They engage in typical retail practices like seasonal sales and expanding product lines to drive growth.

A significant portion of the brand’s fiber content is organic cotton, which is grown without synthetic pesticides or insecticides. Fair Harbor also advertises that its products are free from harmful finishes like traditional chemically intensive water-repellents.

The dyes and processing chemicals used in production are not described in public-facing materials; there is no mention of certifications like OEKO-TEX® Standard 100.

Fair Harbor’s social responsibility toward workers shows good intent but limited transparency. As a relatively young company, they have emphasized working with “responsible factories” and building an ethical supply chain from the start. In practice, however, the brand does not publicly disclose the locations of its manufacturing facilities or specific labor conditions. According to independent assessments, there is no evidence of a published Code of Conduct or supplier labor standards policy available for Fair Harbor. The B Corp certification process in 2022 would have required Fair Harbor to answer detailed questions about labor and supply chain, suggesting that internally they have at least basic labor oversight.

Fair Harbor’s products are essentially free of animal-derived materials.

The company has roots in a love for coastal communities, and it has made a point to give back to those environments and people. From early on, Fair Harbor pledged 5% of its profits to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to cleaning beaches and protecting oceans.