For residents of balmy San Diego, nothing beats a good day at the beach. This ardent love of the ocean was the inspiration for Sand Cloud, a proudly San Diego-based company that sells colorful towels and other beach essentials. But Sand Cloud is about more than accessorizing your fun in the sun – they are dedicated to saving the environment and preserving crucial habitat for marine life threatened by human interference. A portion from the sale of each product is donated to organizations that help protect ocean habitats and educate children about sea life. We got some insight from one of Sand Cloud’s founders, Brandon Leibel, on their mission and why it matters.
Cliché: How did the idea for Sand Cloud come about?
Brandon Leibel: Our initial idea was a beach towel with a pillow. We quit our jobs and basically sold product on the beaches of San Diego. We started gaining some steam on social media; and kind of switched our product around. We scrapped pillow towel and came up with quality towel products and other apparel and accessories, which is what we’re selling today.
You’re based out of San Diego. Would you say that your location played a big role in shaping your company?
San Diego is a huge beach town and it influences not only the style, but also our community values. Our brand and products have been created with inspiration from what we see people wearing here. And the message behind Sand Cloud correlates directly with what we value as a city in San Diego. Everyone is extremely conscious of keeping our community, our beaches and our oceans clean.
10% of your profits are donated to causes that protect marine habitats and sea life. Why are these causes so important to your company?
We think our products and our causes that we donate to, go hand in hand. We care a lot about taking care of our oceans, and generally so do our customers. Our products are for people who love going to the beach, so of course they’re going to want to do their part to preserve that environment. We’re also always striving to improve our products, so in 2019 our customers can expected more recycled materials, and even more eco-friendly packaging from Sand Cloud.
Why is it so crucial that we put more effort than ever into saving the environment?
Now we’re really seeing the impact that humans have had on our oceans. There is so much plastic pollution, and our coral reefs are dying at rapid rates. It’s so important that we all make a conscious effort to reduce our footprints. We hope Sand Cloud is a positive reinforcement and reminder for our customers.
People usually think of San Diego as a tourist destination, but the locals face many problems that contribute to environmental degradation. Talk a little bit about the challenges they face and how Sand Cloud is working to improve the community.
San Diego faces pollution like a lot of other major cities, but because it’s a beachfront city, this also impacts our ocean. With that said, the environment is a major focus for the people of San Diego. We’re hoping to provide our San Diegans with products they’ll want to use, that are also great for our environment. We’ve worked with a great organization called San Diego Coast Keepers that does beach clean ups and regularly educates people on how to be more sustainable locally. We’ve loved partnering with them.
What are some basic everyday changes that we can make to our daily lives to keep marine habitats healthy and free of pollution?
Great question! There are a ton of things that everyone can do in the day-to-day that will have an impact. Try to recycle, and use recycled product as much as possible. Every time you do this, that is one less bit of pollution going into our water. Also buy one of our metal straws!
If parents out there had kids or teens that are passionate about protecting marine life and their habitats, what organizations would you direct them towards?
We have a full list of fantastic partners available on our website here. But for our next generation we would definitely recommend Surfrider Foundation. Kids can get involved all across the country and they offer a ton of great education about what we can do in the coming years. We’ve loved working with them.
What’s next for 2019?
We’re working on a bunch of new products. We have some new towel designs in the works, along with more sustainable merchandise. We’re making eco-friendly packaging and merchandise even more of a focus. Can’t wait to share our new stuff!
Read more Lifestyle on ClicheMag.com
Sand Cloud Delivers Beach Style For A Good Cause. Photo Credit: Sand Cloud.
