We wanted to make something that feels good to wear, not just because it’s soft but because it’s made the right way.
Our t-shirts come from Stanley/Stella, a Belgian brand we’ve trusted for years on other projects. Their blanks have always been the best we’ve found: consistent quality, fair production, and materials that last. They manage to balance quality, sustainability, and accessibility, which isn’t as easy as it sounds when you want to stay true to your values and still make things available worldwide.
The tees (blanks) are made responsibly in Bangladesh, from certified organic cotton grown mainly in India and Turkey. We know that “Made in Bangladesh” can raise questions, and we had them too. We did some digging and found that Stanley/Stella runs a transparent, well-audited supply chain with safe working conditions, fair wages, and regular independent inspections. We haven’t checked everything ourselves, but we did what we could.
If you want to read more straight from the source:
As for the printing, we’re definitely not doing it ourselves (though it would have been fun). We also didn’t reinvent the wheel and decided to go with the biggest dog in town: Printful.
Same idea as above: we tested a few, compared, and went with the one that checked most of the right boxes. Printful might not be perfect, but it scored well on ethics, sustainability, and quality, and it’s the one that proved itself when it came to delivering great results, which for us matters a lot.
We’re not trying to sound perfect, and we’re not a clothing company. We’re just doing our best to create something that reflects the places and people that inspire us, without creating unnecessary harm along the way.
So every time you wear your Back to Shore tee, know that it’s made consciously, from the hands that crafted it to the waves that inspired it.
Also, remember that we’re a non-profit, and we’re not making any money out of this. If we sometimes cut a few tiny corners to make our lives easier, it’s only because we care about our lives too 🤣
