Oursin's Purpose : People+Planet+Partners
As the creators of Oursin, we (Naomi and Raquel) are dedicated to upholding our social and environmental responsibilities, with all partners across all our projects. It is crucial for us to involve local actors at every level of our operations to have a true link to our home, Haiti.
We are mission driven; we believe staying conscious about sustainability is more important now than ever before. The use of recycled fabrics, slow manufacturing, timeless designs, and use of deadstock materials are just some of the directions in which we are headed. This requires ongoing education and regular communication with local and international partners to better coordinate a sustainable approach to production and sales.
In the grand scheme of all our projects, we seek to to ensure all practices are consistent with our standards, in the hopes of inspiring others along the way. We encourage open dialogue and feedback that can enable us to further implement fair standards that are reflective of everything we stand for: people, planet and integrity of partners.
Through our brand, we seek to create a positive space for both makers and wearers. Whether you are an Oursin seamstress or an Oursin beach babe, we want everyone to feel happy, confident, safe and valued. By incorporating local seamstresses and local artisans, we want to contribute to their individual personal development and provide opportunities for fair sustainable income and valued work. Each Oursin sale opens doors to a more financially secure future for the artisans and the families involved in many artisans' lives. Through this meaningful and positive impact, we strive to offer hand-made pieces from local artisans that illustrate the duality in nature that is both beautiful yet imperfect. This approach preserves traditional Haitian craft of horn, bone, and wood while bringing new designs and modern touch to artisanal production.
Our entire swimwear collection is made from a repcycled nylon fabric from Europe, mainly Italy and Portugal. We use regenerated polyester and nylon yarn derived from pre and post industrial waste such as discarded fishing nets. We are also mindful about waste and do our best to avoid using any plastics, which is why our packaging is made of scrap fabric. In addition to our choice of fabrics, we stock limited quantities of seasonal products, only re-ordering styles as required to reduce unnecessary waste. We are currently aiming to get all of our outgoing packaging to be 100% biodegradable.
While we’re not perfect, we are driven to making changes today that aid in preserving our planet for tomorrow. The pristine beaches of Haiti are flooded with plastic trash that hurt sealife and put the ecosystem at risk. Oursin values our partners, who accompany us along the sourcing, production and retail journeys.