Our Production Process

Every decision we make is intentional and keeps the ocean and earth in mind. We use up-cycled textiles, keep production local, and choose processes with the lowest environmental impact we can.

HOW WE MAKE IT

Materials

Every piece is one of a kind.

Our blanks are made from up-cycled materials - existing clothing and textiles given a new life instead of ending up in a landfill. Bleached, dyed, and finished in shades that can never be exactly replicated, every piece is truly unique. Locally made in Southern California, keeping production close to home and supporting our community.

Learn more at: https://www.americanwaste.studio/

Screen Printing

All screen printing is done locally, in Southern California.

Packaging

Every order ships in paper packaging - minimal, recyclable, and plastic-free.

A NOTE ON RETURNS

Because every piece is truly one of a kind, bleached, dyed and finished in shades that can never be exactly replicated, we're unable to accept returns or exchanges. Each piece is unique by nature and that's exactly the point. We encourage you to reach out before purchasing if you have any questions.

KOOKY & CONSCIOUS

Just like being a kook, we're here to have fun and we're not here to shame, but we believe learning, educating, and being conscious is integral to our brand and production.

We love color, we love art, we love wearing something that's expressive and makes you feel like yourself. Expression is part of being human. Fun is the whole point. But we also can't ignore what we know about the environmental impact and the state of our Earth.

So we're making a choice to create AND be intentional. We're going to be kooky AND conscious. We're going to have fun AND care about where our stuff comes from, how it's made, and where it ends up.

Every piece we make starts with existing materials, upcycled, given new life, kept out of a landfill. Some prints are collaborations with an artist getting paid royalties. Every order ships plastic-free. We're not perfect and we're not pretending to be, but we're going to do our absolute best and we're thinking about it every single step of the way.

Here's why all of this matters to us.

WHERE DO OLD CLOTHES GO?

Most people don't think twice about throwing away an old t-shirt, but the reality is that the fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes every single second.

Let us hit you with some stats: in the US alone, 66% of all unwanted clothes end up in landfills. Less than 15% are recycled. Even washing synthetic clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean annually, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles.

We believe small, conscious choices add up. Before you toss it in the trash, take that extra effort and time to donate it, repurpose it, or pass it on. That shirt has another life in it. And if you want to take it a step further, old clothing and textiles can become new things. That's literally what we use for our pieces. Upcycled. Given a second life. One of a kind.

Resources

Fast Fashion Environmental Impact Statistics

17 Most Worrying Textile Waste Statistics & Facts [2026]

Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact in 2026 | Earth.Org

THE PLASTIC PROBLEM

Think about the last time you grabbed takeout. There's the container, the fork, the bag, the straw. We use it for maybe 20 minutes, but that plastic will persist in the environment for hundreds of years!

It doesn't disappear. Plastic slowly breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, microplastics and nanoplastics, that make their way into every step of the food chain, from marine life to human beings. It's everywhere and it's already in us - microplastics have been found in our bodies.

It's in the ocean too. 60% of fish studied worldwide have microplastics in them. Blue whales, the largest animals on earth, consume up to 10 million pieces of microplastic every single day. There are currently an estimated 75 to 199 million TONS of plastic in the ocean right now.

That one takeout container outlives us. It outlives our kids. It ends up in the water we surf in, the fish we eat, the bodies we live in. This is why we strive to be a plastic-free company.

It's a small choice and we're a small company, but we believe small choices have a ripple effect to make big impacts. The ocean always provides, so we're going to do our best to take care of it.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

We're going to be honest and we know we can't fix this overnight. Plastic is everywhere. It's in our packaging, our gear, our grocery stores, our oceans, our bodies.

We're not going to single-handedly stop plastic production, but we made a decision that every single choice we make as a brand, we're going to ask the questions: Is there a better way? Is there a less harmful option? Can we slow down, spend more, and do this right?

Sometimes that means a more expensive shipping material. Sometimes it means saying no to a supplier that won't meet our standards. Sometimes it means moving slower to find what aligns with our values.

That's our commitment. It's not perfect. It's not going to save the ocean in a day. We're conscious and intentional in all our decisions every time. We believe small conscious decisions are worth it every time and they will add up.