ISLAS SECAS IS A REMOTE PARADISE NESTLED IN PANAMA, CENTRAL AMERICA
From its operations and architecture to the fully sustainable hospitality offering, Islas Secas ensures that no decisions are made without considering the environmental consequences.
Surrounded by one of the greatest marine zones on earth, their eco-conscious, low-impact model is vital to protecting and preserving the extraordinary biodiversity of the Gulf of Chiriquí.
Sustainability, responsible stewardship, and commitment to conservation and community are the driving forces at Islas Secas.
Isla Secas’ sustainability credentials are impressive to say the least, including an eco-friendly construction, 100% solar powered, no single-use plastics, zero food waste, and 100% water recycling to name but a few.
The Project
Islas Secas sought our help to redesign their staff uniforms to align with their sustainability goals.
After close consultation, we jointly considered three core elements of the collection: the apparel itself, the designs, and the sustainability criteria.
The apparel
The uniform requirements were to span a wide range of departments and roles at the resort from housekeeping, maintenance, groundskeeping, and back-of-house admin teams, through to day/evening food and beverage as well as activities personnel such as watersports, hiking, and yoga.
The task was to select and design a full set of suitable apparel for the hot and humid conditions and the level of physical activity each role demanded.
The designs
Isla Secas provided us with a clear design brief – a beautiful palette of carefully chosen colours, in line with the company’s brand guidelines and a perfect fit for each role. The collection had to be consistent in its patterns, accents, and colours, whilst giving clear distinction between departments.
Putting the environment first lies at the heart of Islas Secas, so with that in mind, they sought creative designs that would reflect their marine conservation efforts on the island. The design needed to contribute to the success of the sustainability story for both staff and guests.
Furthermore, designs were to be inspired by the vast variety of local wildlife, a favourite of our team.
Sustainability
Since sustainability underscores the very essence of the island from the owners to the team on the ground, we had to prove that our own eco-credentials would stand up to their strict requirements.
Islas Secas have a policy of using local suppliers wherever possible, however, in this case, we could show that although the apparel might have to travel a little further, we were able to offer a far superior and more sustainable product than the local alternatives.
The sustainability credentials run throughout Islas Secas– in places you might never notice. Islas Secas noted that
“Working always towards protecting and preserving our natural islands partnering with OCEANR is just one way we weave our sustainable ethos throughout our private island resort.’’
After evidencing our positive environmental impact, we were given the opportunity to propose custom-designed artwork for a new uniform collection.
Solution
We set to work on a range of sustainable clothing designed to highlight their ongoing eco-conscious stewardship efforts.
The apparel was to include polo shirts, tech tees, rash vests, formal trousers, active and formal shorts, and leggings.
As well as accessories such as caps, hats, neck gaiters, ponchos, water bottles, and tumblers.
Our in-house design team worked closely with their conversation team to creatively incorporate their local marine life onto the eco-friendly fabrics of their uniforms.
For example, our recycled polyester rash vests designs integrated their local marine biodiversity, accentuating the beautiful wild octopuses that live in the surrounding waters.
We loved working with the light and dark green colours that reflected their natural surroundings, as well as the hand-drawn detailing in the marine life design, and creating an overall collection of apparel that would sit in harmony with the resort’s surroundings.
Needless to say, we designed the collection from entirely sustainable materials.
The collection was able to boast several eco-factors including being 100% carbon neutral and using eco-fabrics such as polyester made from recycled ocean waste.
For the staff members that were not engaged in water-based activities, we curated a range of cotton polos, derived from 100% organic cotton.
Further to this, for each garment supplied we remove a kilo of additional ocean waste through our partnership with Enaleia.
After numerous inspiring design consultations and fascinating collaborations, we finally decided upon the perfect collection that echoed the sustainability sentiments of the island resort.
The Impact In Numbers
For each recycled polyester product Isla Secas purchases with us, they prevent on average 14 plastic bottles from entering our ocean.
In total Islas Secas has so far prevented 17,440 plastic water bottles from entering the ocean, as a direct result of their partnership with us.
And we send Islas Secas their uniform in paper bags and 100% plastic-free packaging.
Islas Secas sought an environmental partner to create a sustainable clothing range for their staff and guests that showcases their sustainable tourism development while aligning our values that respect the environment and embrace more sustainable lifestyles for their guests.This was a beautiful marriage of our sustainability efforts together, with Islas Secas highlighting that “Together with OCEANR, we are jointly committed to a vibrant ocean free of plastic.”
Plastic Offset through recycled materials:
17,440
PLASTIC BOTTLES COLLECTED
The next phase of the sustainability journey at Islas Secas
It has always been a vision of the resort to open a boutique shop with a range of holiday accessories as well as branded merchandise for guests to take home as a souvenir. Plans are in place to build a store in the near future.
However, earlier in 2022 when speaking with the resort about the latest top-up of uniforms, we were told that guests were so keen to take home one of the Islas Secas ‘Octopus’ t-shirts that they had been reported to regularly offer resort staff hundreds of dollars to buy their shirt.
As a result, OCEANR provided a selection of retail-ready products so that guests can take home a sustainable reminder of their stay at the resort.
Needless to say – these products give the very same impact as the uniforms – and so enable this brand partnership the opportunity to make even more difference through their ever-evolving relationship.
