Need a Beach Chair for the Shore? Shop Local with LowTides, a NJ-owned Sustainable Brand
It all started with a magazine article, a love of the Jersey Shore, and a mission to protect the ocean.
In 2018, LowTide’s future founder Brenton Hutchinson was spending the Summer at his family’s shore house in Sea Isle City, NJ. While enjoying a day on the sand, he read a National Geographic article about the vast amounts of ocean plastic around the world. The now infamous plastic bag, captured as an iceberg, revealed the detrimental effects plastic is having on our oceans.
To protect future generations, including his three young children, Brenton felt a need to introduce something for his fellow beach go-ers that helps save the one thing they all have in common: a mutual love for the Ocean.
LowTides Ocean Products began that very next week. They launched via Kickstarter in June of 2019 and were 100% funded in only 30 days.
They began the business with stylish and durable beach chairs that are made with recycled ocean-bound plastics. The chairs, which include a tall, low, and child-size option, feature two cup holders and a backpack. Not only is it easy to take to the beach, but it offers storage for all your personal items once you’re there.
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The fun, vibrant chairs you’ll see on LowTide’s website came from the teamwork of Brenton and his sister Elizabeth Ackmann. Elizabeth is a graphic designer and LowTide’s full-time Marketing Manager. Currently, LowTides is strictly an e-commerce website with direct sales coming from social media. Customers are drawn to their social message of saving the ocean, as well as their beautiful, colorful chairs.
Recently, they have also partnered with artist Molly Hatch from Cape Cod, featuring her signature pen-and-ink whale pattern. They have plans to connect with other artists in the future.
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The LowTides armrests and kickplates are molded with upcycled HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pellets. The HDPE is built using resin, plastic particles that are sourced from 100% ocean-bound plastic. Ocean bound signifies that it was collected, through local community collection efforts, within 50km of a coastline.
When you receive your chair in the mail, you will get a tag with where the plastic for your chair was found. Their material comes from key At-Risk Zones on Java (Indonesia), the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), and Haiti. LowTides works with qualified partners directly at the source to ensure the ocean-bound plastic is 100% traceable.
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When asked what the future holds, Brenton has the vision to make more products out of ocean plastics to prevent them from making it into the ocean. Plastic lasts forever, so why not recycle it into something you’ll enjoy?
For more information on LowTides Ocean Products visit their Website, Facebook, and Instagram.
