Meet North Sails, the Brand Mixing Sportswear With Ocean Conservation
North Sails is gearing up for the voyage of a lifetime. Founded in San Diego by sailor and Olympic gold medalist Lowell North in 1957, the brand quickly became known for its innovative and durable sail technology — which it has smartly applied to apparel as well. To aid its fashion expansion and introduce consumers to the North Sails state of mind, the brand is now launching a new campaign named “We are North Sails”, starring pro windsurfer Antoine Martin, America’s Cup sailor Pete Cumming, pro kiteboarder Karlie Thoma, and climate activist Jerome Foster II.
At the center of the new campaign is North Sails’ legendary Sailor Jacket, available in three iterations. There’s the Original, made of recycled nylon with knitted trims, the North Tech, with its triple-layer recycled technical fabric with stretch trims and waterproof zips, and finally, the Performance, made of modern windproof, showerproof and breathable shell fabric, nicely finished with a super-soft fleece lining.
The jackets aren’t going to wear themselves, so North Sails enlisted the help of four “ocean people” for the creation of the “We are North Sails” campaign. Professional windsurfer Antoine Martin brings some serious aquatic authority to the campaign — the Guadeloupe native began windsurfing at just four years old and placed first in the International Windsurfing Tour in 2018. Representing the sailing world, there’s Brit Pete Cumming. Having competed in the world-renowned America’s Cup World Series and Volvo Ocean Race, he should know a thing or two about high-performance sportswear — oh, and he’s crossed the Atlantic eight times. From the kiteboarding sphere, we have Maui native Karlie Thoma. A daredevil at heart, she’s been hooked on kiteboarding’s unique airborne/aquatic adrenaline rush since she took up the sport at nine years old. Lastly, North Sails invited 20-year-old Washington, D.C. native and member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Jerome Foster II to be part of the campaign. A vocal advocate for Black and indigenous representation within climate activism, Foster was also the first consecutive climate striker in Washington, D.C., and is a leading figure in the global “Fridays for Future” climate movement.
All four ambassadors were invited to be part of the campaign because they share North Sails’ commitment to ocean conservation. The Sailor Jackets themselves are designed to be durable and recyclable, but the brand’s environmental effort doesn’t end there. North Sails supports various environmental projects and ocean conservation charities, such as the Tara Ocean Foundation, Worldrise, and Ocean Family Foundation. It has also worked closely with Moorea-based coral restoration initiative Coral Gardeners and hosted an immersive event at the recent Les Voiles de Saint Tropez regatta with the initiative’s founder Titouan Bernicot.
Keen to join the North Sails family? Check out their website and shop the latest collection
