Environmental Technology

Finisterre

Authenticity, innovation and a strong commitment to sustainability are nourishing the growth of what's been called 'the perfect brand'.

What's in a name? Well, 'Finisterre' literally means 'the ends of the earth', and it's a word that brilliantly sums up the way that this technical clothing brand is pushing at new frontiers - not just in terms of the performance of its products under extreme conditions, but also when it comes to setting new standards of ethical business practice.

It's also a name that's been making impressive waves in the last couple of years, way beyond the serious surfing circles in which it first became known. GQ, for instance, listed Finisterre's Anabatic shell jacket in their '100 Best Things in the World 2007', while the global trend-spotters at uber-cool Monocle magazine recently devoted a double page spread to what it dubbed 'the perfect brand'. Not bad for an operation that began in 2003 with a £4000 loan from The Prince's Trust still run by a four-strong team of dedicated surfers from a converted mine-building at St Agnes on the North Cornwall coast.

Finisterre is tapping into a hunger to connect with something more authentic than the shallow, clichéd values associated with so many of the big, global brands. The guys behind the company are not just talking the talk. For one thing, they're personally testing their own products almost daily in the most challenging of labs - the Atlantic surf whose thunder is audible from their office. The results are posted on the Finisterre blog, along with vivid reports from other product-testers around the world, including international big-wave surfers and BBC film-crew working in the Antarctic.

Finisterre have translated the idea of ethical business into much more than a vague aspiration, finding imaginative ways of reducing the company's environmental impact in every area, from the supply of raw materials to product life and recycling. The success of these initiatives helped Finisterre win the Volvo European Sport Award for Eco Design 2008, as well as invitations to address international conferences alongside speakers such as Al Gore.

In 2007, Finisterre decided to pull production out of China in view of concerns over working conditions and employee rights. Manufacturing now takes place in Devon and Portugal, and at a facility in Colombia run by nuns as part of a rehabilitation project for ex-prostitutes and drug offenders.

But Cornwall is still at the heart of the Finisterre story - and Cornwall itself could hardly wish for a more inspiring brand ambassador.