Sustainability

Our Values We believe in investing in memories; in filling our lives with experiences and having stories to tell. Our mission is to promote a fulfilling lifestyle while trying not to destroy our planet. That's why we encourage you get outdoors. Smell the fresh air, hear the birds sing, enjoy the sunshine or the cloud movement. Appreciate nature.

Our Background Hi, I'm Fiona and I started SunDrift with a mission. To deliver top-class sustainable outdoor gear that actually looks good!

It began with my own frustrations. As an avid globe-trotter, I noticed there was a lack of stylish and sustainable backpacking gear on the market. During a 5 month solo trip in 2019, as I was island-hopping through the crystal clear waters of the Philippines, I found myself pondering a question "Why are backpacks all so dull, plain and boring?"

A few weeks later, I was sat in a female dorm in Sri Lanka listening to others venting on the exact same issue. As I continued my travels through Nepal and Kenya and spoke to more travellers, I realised I definitely wasn't alone. For the first time ever on a backpacking adventure I was excited to get home to Ireland to solve this problem!

After several (hundred) rounds of design and sampling, SunDrift was born. I launched the business with one product; a 55-litre pack, made from recycled water bottles, that represents your bold, beautiful adventure.

Following the success of our first hero product, we decided to tackle other outdoor gear and accessories. Now we're focused on building a whole range of sustainable and stylish products for your outdoor lifestyle; whether that's chilling in your garden, catching up with mates at the park or beach, venturing on a short hike or cycle, or embarking on an exciting trip around the globe.

We're delighted to have you on our SunDrift journey. Please feel free to reach. out with your questions or suggestions on our growing brand, there is always someone on hand to help!

Fiona ✌️

90% of the world's plastic has not been recycled, meaning it fills the earth. Over 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year. We care about the planet and believe this needs to stop.

OUR PRODUCTS We're proud to share that many of our products are made from regenerated materials. For example, our 55-litre backpacks are primarily made from 28 recycled plastic water bottles.

Our backpacks and towels once had a previous life where they roamed the earth as soda bottles, water bottles and food jars, or in other words products derived from PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

These PET products are collected, sorted and recycled. They are then refined into flakes to create recycled PET that can be turned into products such as our backpacks! Using this kind of technology to recycle waste is a huge step forward to a greener, safer and cleaner planet.

Our products are Control Union Certified with the Global Recycled Standard certification.

We strive to make our products as sustainable as possible. The packaging your backpack is delivered in is also made with recycled materials. However the reality is that not all elements of our products can be made from recycled material (think hard exteriors such as buckles and zips). We are constantly trying to improve this and will continue to ask our manufacturers to swap disposable materials for recyclable ones.

CARBON OFFSETTING We have fantastic manufacturing partners who can produce high quality goods and are committed to making these products ethically. All of their workers are paid above minimum wage and have reasonable required working hours. You can view our ethics policy here.

However, the fact of the matter is, our manufacturing partners are based across Europe and Asia and that means we need to move our goods over to Ireland. We use carbon neutral shipping partners where possible. However where not possible, we take offsetting our CO2 emissions very seriously. That's why we have made a commitment to offset all of the carbon emissions caused from shipping our products.

To do this we work with Hometree, a registered Irish charity, to plant native trees that are to be enjoyed by animals and humans alike. Being part of the reforesting process helps us all reconnect to the Earth and reconnect us to the responsibility we have in protecting it.

If we could find a supplier that can produce the same quality backpacks closer to home we would look to moving manufacturing to Europe in order to reduce our carbon footprint.

Planting trees at Moy Hill Farm in Ireland (📸by Stewart MacKellar)

OUR PERSONAL COMMITMENT In keeping with our beliefs, within our workspace we also make our best efforts to work towards our mission of a cleaner planet. We prefer to avail of every service online in an effort to create minimal waste, we avoid single use products as much as possible, and we try to reuse boxes and packing materials that come into our office.