Since its founding in 2003, Finisterre has been dedicated to crafting sustainable surfwear that can withstand the harshest North Atlantic elements. Named after a famous North Atlantic gale, the name "Finisterre" translates to “the end of the earth” or “land’s end,” reflecting the brand’s commitment to conscious practices. Starting from a cliff-top workshop in St. Agnes in Cornwall, Finisterre developed innovative fleece and surf products that are now renowned among the surfing community. They are also dedicated to sustainable practices, and are B Corp certified!
Commitment to B-Corp principles
Finisterre’s journey as a B Corp reflects its dedication to fostering a more inclusive and sustainable economy. B Corps are rigorously assessed on their social and environmental performance, governance, and transparency. Finisterre originally gained certification in 2016, and re certified in 2021, improving its score from 80.8 to 93.2 in that time by advancing in areas such as supply chain management, environmental practices, and customer stewardship. ZeroBees also recently became certified, read more on the definitions of B Corp.
In alignment with the Science-Based Targets initiative, Finisterre has set a goal to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030. This commitment to transparency is complemented by ongoing efforts to incorporate more scope 3 emissions into their carbon accounting, such as home working and commuting impacts (although they do not have a net-zero target officially validated by the SBTi, Finisterre are committed to net-zero by 2040).
Embracing circularity
Finisterre’s sustainability strategy centers around a circular design model, which incorporates durability, ethical production, and comprehensive customer engagement. In 2023, they further strengthened their commitment to sustainability by launching a comprehensive Impact Report, which outlines their efforts across three key areas: Product, Environment, and People.
Within their product, Finisterre focused on small-scale initiatives with large impacts. This includes the Lived & Loved initiative, in which their dedicated repair team tackles repairs to products to extend their life. In 2023, the team noticed issues with product designs such as zipper failures. They traced this issue to hip width of certain items which were too narrow for certain movements. Having fixed the width on these selected products, the strain on zippers was alleviated, resulting in fewer returns. Alongside these solutions, the repair team also directly handle any repairs, fixing over 1,500 products (a 27% increase from 2022). They also offer a range of how-to tutorials and workshops for repairing Finisterre items, with in-person events in Bristol and an upcoming London location in 2024.
Their partnership with Circular Flow led to the creation of products made from recycled wetsuits (8,300 tonnes of old wetsuits are dumped in landfills globally). Through this collaboration, Finisterre collected over 1,000 wetsuits in a take-back scheme, transforming them into sheets of neoprene-like material for their Autumn-Winter 2024 collection. They also launched a new wetsuit rental program, making their Yulex (a trademarked natural neoprene replacement) wetsuits more accessible while promoting reuse.
Finisterre also partnered with B-Corp Baabuk to create slippers from their unique Bowmont Merino wool. The collaboration overcame challenges in the wool production process by avoiding the need to compost wool containing trapped vegetable matter.
Finally, Finisterre’s collaboration with Reskinned incentivizes customers to send in their pre-loved items. As a result, 2,795 items were bought through this initiative, and over 800 items were repaired for resale. They plan to introduce in-store drop-off points by the end of 2024.
Reducing emissions and protecting oceans
Finisterre has made impressive strides toward reducing their environmental footprint. In 2022, their carbon footprint was 3,802 tonnes of CO₂e, with a significant portion (92%) from their supply chain, particularly textiles. Since their 2020 baseline, they’ve reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 28%, largely through electrification efforts, with just 2 of their total sites not powered by 100% renewable energy.
The company also emphasises the need for regenerative materials that protect the ocean and its life. 91% of materials used in finisterre products are organic, recycled and natural. In 2022, they joined the Microfibre 2030 Commitment and tested five fabrics to understand their microfiber shedding properties. This information will help them mitigate the impact of microplastics on ocean life. Furthermore, all their water-repellent products are fluorocarbon-free, aligning with their commitment to reducing toxic chemicals in the environment. Read more from Finisterre on why microfibres are harmful.
Finisterre also use innovative solutions to reuse ocean waste.Their Repreve Ocean collection also features products with insulation made entirely from ocean-bound plastic bottles, and a partnership with Waterhaul (another Cornish brand) used discarded fishing gear to create their line of sunglasses.
This also extends to their packaging solutions, for example their Leave No Trace garment bags which use 70% less paper than the old mailbags, and combines 100% recycled FSC certified lightweight paper which is water soluble which can be added to household paper recycling and dissolves in the pulping process.
Consideration across the supply chain
Finisterre recognises that sustainability extends beyond products to include people and communities. The company splits its supply chain into tiers to enhance transparency. In 2023, 96.1% of their Tier 1 suppliers underwent external social welfare audits, reflecting Finisterre’s commitment to accountability across their operations. The brand continues to work towards achieving 100% coverage of these audits throughout its supply chain.
An exemplary SME
Finisterre is just one example of a small-medium business that aligns itself with the priorities of our planet. The company’s dedication to environmental stewardship and its B Corp principles demonstrates a clear thinking in terms of sustainable business. Which is why it deserves a spot in our SME Spotlight Series!
References / Further reading
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