Nomadix towels are made with plastic waste -- a passion project turned into a business for three... [+]
Three friends started a company, Nomadix, based on one product -- a towel made of recycled plastic. Three years in, they’re in REI, Urban Outfitters, and over 100 boutiques, surf shops, and yoga studios. And their approach to growth is, ironically, slow down.
Chace Petersen, Zack Helminiak, and Hunter Robinson are accidental business partners. After years of camping, surfing, and having an outdoor lifestyle together, the trio realized that there was increasing plastic waste in the ocean, and trash littered at their favorite surf spots. Eliminating all the waste would be too hard, so they decided to hone in on single-use plastic water bottles, Helminiak says.
“Plastic pollution is a major problem for oceans and wildlife, which Nomadix and our customers seek to protect.”
Nomadix was born out of necessity, he says. The founders travel regularly, having visited about three dozen countries collectively and towels, they realized were either too niche or made of rubbish quality.
“At the time, and still today really, towels were activity specific,” Helminiak explains from their San Clemente, California headquarters. “There is one type of towel for yoga with dots on the bottom which is not practical for anything else. Another is a shammy-like towel for camping, which are not durable, we've owned many, and a gray-area of various cotton towels for the beach, which are bulky and get pretty gross after a day on the sand.”
So much variety -- and waste -- that didn't resonate with them. “This specialization of products didn't fit our lifestyle, and more importantly, it's not environmentally friendly or affordable to buy all those towels,” he adds.
The company’s tagline aptly sums it up: “Own less. Do More.”
With $100,000 raised from Kickstarter and Indiegogo, they launched Nomadix in 2014. The towel, which retails for $39.95 is anti-microbial, quick dry, durable, sand-resistant, and made entirely of recycled plastic in a solar-powered factory in China. (They tried to manufacture in the US, they admit, but the costs were too high and would price them out of the market).
This year, they expanded beyond e-commerce, surf shops and boutiques to find a spot at major retailers. Three years ago, when they reached out to big box stores to carry their product, they got a stiff response. Now the dynamics have changed, Helminiak says, with brands looking for eco-conscious products that appeal to shifting consumer habits.
Currently their towels are available at Urban Outfitters and REI. “We’ve been REI co-op members since the first time we were fitted for external frame packs as kids,” he says “Since then, we’ve looked to REI as a force of good in the outdoor retail space.”
As the company grows, going beyond its sleepy surf town origins, the trio have one challenge, a tactic that's lesser know in the startup world: slowing down.
“One of the hardest parts of building Nomadix has been reminding ourselves to slow down. As a company that is active on social media, and that collaborates with other brands, we have a lot of opportunities come our way that we have to turn down,” he says.
They can afford to because the company has no outside investment. Nomadix is still owned only by its three co-founders. It's not just about getting investors, Helminiak says. “If we did take on an investor, they would bring more to the table than money. We've grown this thing from nothing based on crowdfunding. We really want to be able to make the right decisions that align with our values, not just growth rates or profit margins.”
Some of those choices are a bit non-traditional for a retail brand. For instance, Nomadix just started its own podcast, featuring landscape photographer and conservation enthusiast Chris Burkard; more guests are lined up, profiling the work of creatives and entrepreneurs who are embedded in the outdoor and eco-friendly industries.
But going beyond a simple podcast is the more ambitious travel series, All The Places. In their first episode, the Nomadix team travel with their friends to Colombia for a biking tour of the country’s most majestic coffee farms and producers. Their primary partner on the series is the foreign language software, Rosetta Stone. Helminiak says they wanted to do something that would enable them to connect with audiences around the country (they’re taking the film on tour), and build a community -- beyond just selling towels.
“Ultimately we are trying to build the company with a triple bottom line approach that is good for our future employees, stakeholders and the environment,” he concludes. “It’s not just about money. And we want to have some fun along the way.”
