Marine Layer Is Proving Comfort and Responsibility Can Go Hand in Hand
Photo: Marine Layer
Some brands elevate your wardrobe. Marine Layer wants to rethink how clothing is made in the first place. Today, we honor Marine Layer as the Seeing Green Solutionist of the Day.
Marine Layer began in 2009 with a simple mission: make the softest, most comfortable shirt you’ve ever worn. After the founder’s girlfriend tossed his well-loved favorite tee, he set out to recreate that perfectly broken-in feel from day one. What started as a single fabric experiment in San Francisco has grown into a full lifestyle apparel brand for men and women — one known for its vintage-inspired aesthetic, laid-back feel and an almost obsessive commitment to softness.
Sixteen years later, Marine Layer has custom-developed more than 100 proprietary fabrics, opened 45+ brick-and-mortar stores and built a loyal community around clothing that’s intentionally made to last. Their collection now spans tees, knits, outerwear, dresses, weekend staples and everyday essentials, all anchored by a small, passionate team and a culture built on creativity, playfulness and responsibility.
(story continues below)
A Mindset Built on Better Choices
Marine Layer’s commitment to responsibility runs deeper than soft fabrics or a laid-back California vibe. Sustainability is built into how they design products, source materials, partner with factories and show up for their communities. Their approach is steady, incremental and grounded in the belief that better choices made consistently over time lead to real impact.
Materials that lighten the footprint
Marine Layer has spent years improving its fabric mix, steadily shifting toward recycled, regenerated and renewable fibers. Today 39 percent of its products contain at least 30 percent sustainable materials with a goal of reaching 75 percent by 2030. Recycled polyester, recycled nylon, upcycled cotton, organic cotton, hemp and TENCEL fibers all show up across the line. Their in-house Re-Spun fabrics signal products made with at least 30 percent recycled content, whether that comes from PET bottles or from fibers created through their own take-back program. It’s a materials strategy rooted in reducing resource extraction and keeping existing fibers in circulation longer.
Responsible sourcing from the factory floor up
Marine Layer’s focus on verified working conditions and transparent sourcing reinforces their belief that a responsible apparel brand must account for the human side of its footprint. Every manufacturing partner in Marine Layer’s supply chain participates in reputable third-party audits. Each has signed the company’s code of ethics and is listed in annual impact reports, giving customers visibility into where and how products are made.
Packaging designed to reduce waste
The brand has made meaningful progress in low-impact packaging, replacing single-use plastic mailers with recyclable Vela bags and printing catalogs and hang tags on FSC-certified paper. While these actions may not be particularly flashy, each step reduces operational waste and helps shrink the environmental cost of moving products from factory to front door.
Circularity through Re-Spun
Re-Spun is one of the most distinctive parts of Marine Layer’s sustainability story. Launched in 2018 as a tee recycling program, it has now evolved into a full textile take-back system in partnership with 4Days. Through the $20 Re-Spun Take Back Bag, customers can return up to 15 pounds of clothing and textiles of any type and receive a $40 Marine Layer reward that encourages more circular participation. Returned items are sorted for resale, fiber-to-fiber recycling or down-cycling into insulation or industrial fill. By the end of 2025 the program will have diverted more than 650,000 pounds of textiles from landfill, an impressive example of what accessible, incentivized and consumer-friendly circularity can look like.
B Corp values at the center
Underscoring their initiatives across materials, manufacturing and recycling is Marine Layer’s status as a Public Benefit Corporation, with B Corp certification achieved in 2022 with a score of 82.5. Fewer than 0.5 percent of apparel brands in the U.S. meet B Corp’s accountability and transparency standards, which underscores how meaningful this designation truly is. As a B Corp, the company is legally committed to considering workers, communities and the environment in decision-making. Their annual impact reports reflect a practice of ongoing measurement and regular public disclosure, both of which are essential ingredients in long-term responsibility work.
Marine Layer is a Seeing Green Solutionist because they prove that comfort, craft and responsibility can live in the same garment. They’re not just making softer tees. They’re helping reshape what modern, low-impact apparel can look like — from materials to circularity to community care.