Men's Board Shorts: Finding an Ecofriendly Gift for your Favorite Water Lover

Hazel and I usually tag-team gifts for our hubbys since their birthdays are in July. Both of our husbands love water—be it a beach or a mountain lake. So, it was easy to know we needed to find some gear that enabled more of their outdoor adventuring.  

When we started our gift-hunt, we noticed there’s been quite a lot of press about Outerknown recently. Their board shorts have been touted by the likes of Rolling Stone and Men’s Journal. Plus, a couple of big names (Chris Hemsworth, Rande Gerber, Jason Statham, Richard Woolcott) are big fans of the company’s clothing line. Even Tony Stark rocked a rather fitted Outerknown sweatshirt in Avengers: Endgame’s early scenes.

Outerknown was founded by Kelly Slater (surf legend) and John Moore (acclaimed clothing/brand engineer). Outerknown’s mission is highly eco-conscious and inspiring: responsibly manufacture clothing that truly respects planet earth.  Outerknown also follows an impressive code of conduct which covers a wide range of topics. Think: fair trade, animal welfare and transparency.

We figured both of the men in our lives would love a little Outerknown action. So, we went ahead and got the Apex Trunks for Hazel’s Husband and the Nomadic Volley board shorts for mine. We also gave the gifts a month early so that we could get their feedback.

What Hazel’s Husband Loved About Apex Shorts: The shorts stretch in every direction imaginable.  No restricted/claustrophobic feeling here. The seams are stich-free (aka chafe-free ) and the trunks dry fast (he guessed about 10ish minutes while he was hiking). He appreciated their “classic” length, and his favorite part was how the Apex Shorts fold into their own back pocket. Minimalist packing at it’s best.

Here’s a video showing how it all zips into the pocket.

What Hazel Loved About Apex Shorts:  Cutting down on their raw-material footprint has been a hug motivator for Outerknown—they invest heavily in using regenerated materials. The regeneration process for these Apex shorts involves abandoned fishing nets (there’s an estimated 640,000 tons of abandoned nets crippling the ocean currently) and combines the old nets with pre- and post-consumer waste to make a new nylon yarn called Econyl. The neat part is that Econyl reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80%. Outerknown ultimately wants to invest in Econyl products that can be endlessly regenerative (without any loss in quality).

Also, as a health side-note, I also love that Apex shorts are water repellent but uniquely perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) free. 

PFOA is both incredibly harmful to our health and our waterways due to its bioaccumulation.  Recently, 200+ international scientists signed the 'Madrid Statement', which calls for drastic cuts on PFOAs usage.

Good To Knows Before Ordering: Sizing. These shorts don’t have an elastic waistband, which means you’ll want to measure before you buy so you don’t get something too big or too small. In general I feel like Outerknown’s shorts tend to run a bit larger than most brands.

Oh, here’s a close up on the laser cut drainage holes in the Apex shorts.

What My Husband Loved About the Nomadic Volley shorts:  These shorts are well, shorter; my hubby said the length worked great for lake surfing. The material itself felt softer than most of his other brands of board shorts (RVCA and Patagonia). He especially liked that these trunks didn’t come with that weird netting liner (he’s been known to cut those out). Outerknown’s “Quick Dry” finish dried in about the same time as his other shorts—so that didn’t stand out too much.

Good To Knows Before Ordering:  If your man likes super stretchy swim trunks then the Nomadic Volley shorts might not be his favorite. They don’t have any spandex in them.

What I like About the Nomadic Volley shorts: These shorts are made of 100% recycled polyester. Outerknown’s partners gathered 10+ plastic bottles from the ocean, melted down the existing plastic and re-spun it into new polyester fiber for these shorts.

Here’s the Nomadic shorts in action—the green of the shorts definitely gets a lot darker when wet. Special thanks for hubby’s slashing.

Good for You - The Apex shorts are (PFOA) free are made from 86% recycled polyester and 14% spandex with PFOA-Free DWR. I think the PFOA-Free element is definitely a plus for these board shorts. The Nomadic Volley Shorts are 100% recycled polyester. I couldn’t find anything bout the Nomadic Volley shorts being PFOA-free, but I reached out to Outerknown to check. **The jury is still out on wether wearing recycled polyester (aka rPET) can be harmful due to the estrogens in the recycled polyester plastics and the high-heat involved in the processing. If you want a super, super clean board short, you could try these linen swimming shorts from Rawganique (although I don’t think they’d be ideal for surfing).

Good for Others - Both board shorts were sewn in Fair Trade Certified™ facility. In general I love Outerknown’s transparency. They choose manufactures who not only abide by the strict guidelines of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) but also who share their values as a “global citizen”. Outerknown also has a full list of their suppliers available for review. The company also engages with their manufacturers on a community-level, by investing in infrastructure and creating education opportunities to help social development locally.

Good for Earth - Outerknown is Bluesign certified which means it follows some pretty high environmental standards during production. The company chooses manufacturing partners who fit three key requirements: The partner must first protect biodiversity, second, be actively conscious of reducing their water use, and third, keep their emissions low. Outerknown’s #It’sNotOk campaign/shirt (that promotes Ocean Conservancy is also really neat. If you buy that specific shirt on earth day 100% of the proceeds goes to helping with ocean conservation efforts. I love what Outerknown is doing with Econyl’s regenerative textiles (all while cutting down on their carbon footprint). Note: The jury is still out wether the 100% recycled polyester used in the Nomadic Volley shorts may be more problematic for the environment—if you are concerned, then Outerknown’s Merino Wool trunks (100% Natural & Renewable, Biodegradable Fiber) might be a better fit for you.

C&C Review -Outerknown is a company I feel like I can easily become brand-loyal to. Everything the company does/creates feels just so intentional. If you are looking for an eco/social conscious company that also makes it easy to find classic, stylish basics, this will definitely be your jam. Some people have mentioned that the men’s shorts/board shorts tend to run a bit big.