7 Beach Brands You Can Feel Good About Buying 

A day at the beach doesn’t require much, but the right gear can make a big difference. There are a few things you’ll want to have for a day in the sun, sand, and saltwater. As a long-time Floridian, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of beach gear over the years. Along the way, I’ve learned that some of my favorite beach brands are doing more than making durable flip-flops and cute sunglasses— they’re also helping protect the oceans and beaches that I love. 

Whether they’re removing trash from the beach, using recycled materials in their products, saving marine life, or restoring oyster reefs, these companies are creating gear that I actually feel good about buying. From the sunscreen on your skin to the beach bag slung over your shoulder, these are some of the beach essentials you can actually feel good about buying. By using this gear, you’ll be making a difference and helping our beaches and oceans, too. 

This company may be best known for their beachy footwear, but they are also one of the co-founders of the Better Beach Alliance. In partnership with Surfrider Foundation, they’ve helped coordinate thousands of beach cleanups. In addition, some Reef flip flops incorporate recycled materials into the design. One pair that I personally have in my closet is the Reef Cushion Breeze.

What I love most about these is the sustainable design. These shoes aren’t made with any toxic plastic materials. The lining of the webbing on the strap and the toe post is made from recycled plastic. Although it may sound weird to have used plastic between your toes, it doesn’t feel like that at all, and they’re actually really comfortable. 

I’ve been wearing Costa Del Mar sunglasses for years, as have most of my friends. These polarized sunglasses are made for marine environments and owning a pair of Costas is an unofficial part of being a Floridian. I love the sunglasses, but I’m equally as impressed with their sustainability efforts. Improperly discarded fishing nets can cause harm to marine animals and hurt our oceans. Costa Del Mar has found a creative way to recycle old fishing nets, though. They take abandoned fishing nets found in the ocean in Chile and use them to create frames for their Untangled Collection.

They also have a line of sunglasses that helps protect one of my favorite marine animals—sharks. They’ve partnered with OCEARCH, a non-profit organization that collects data on sharks, to develop a line that was inspired by Great White Sharks and Tiger Sharks. Even better, every time they sell a pair of the OCEARCH Cat Cay sunglasses, money is donated to help further shark research, which in turn helps protect these majestic creatures. 

A good hat comes in handy on those sunny beach days and Cotopaxi has ones that will not only keep the sun off of your face, but will make you feel good about buying it. Their Tech-5 Panel Hat and Tech Bucket Hat are a couple of their designs that are made with 100% recycled nylon. Starting in 2024, they made a vow to not use PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” in any of their products, and they have set clear and transparent goals for their company to reduce greenhouse emissions. Those gases can cause oceans to warm and ice sheets to melt, which can then create rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

Greenhouse gases also have negative effects on marine life, and beach lovers can certainly appreciate Cotopaxi’s efforts. On top of that, they’ve developed a nonprofit called The Cotopaxi Foundation, and they give a portion of their sales to a variety of programs that help poverty-stricken communities around the world. 

Proper sun protection is a must if you’re at the beach, but not all sunscreen is created equal. You’ll want to make sure you choose a sunscreen with the proper SPF to protect yourself, but it’s also important to choose one that is also gentler on the ocean, too. In some places, such as Key West and Hawaii, all sunscreen you’ll find in the beach shops are reef-safe due to local legislation. However, even in other places, it’s important to be mindful of selecting ones that are causing less harm to coral reefs and animals calling the ocean home.

Stream2Sea is a reef-friendly sunscreen that was created by a cosmetic chemist who happens to be a diver, too. Their formulas are designed with both people and waterways in mind, allowing you to feel good about what you’re putting on your skin since it eventually washes into the ocean.

They’ve even developed a sunscreen balm in collaboration with 4ocean, one of the organizations leading the way in beach cleanups. Each purchase of that particular product removes one pound of trash from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines through 4ocean’s cleanup movement.  

Toadfish has a variety of beach gear, including beach blankets, dry boxes, clothing, and coastal kitchen necessities such as clam knives and crab claw cutters. They also have their own line of fishing gear. My favorite Toadfish products are their tumblers. Having a good reusable cup is always ideal if you’re hanging out on or by the water since it reduces the chance of trash accidentally ending up in the ocean. When it comes to reusable beach cups, there are tons of options.

One of the important things to take into consideration is how hot or cold it keeps your drink. The stainless steel cups made by Toadfish excel in that task, but they also have another special feature that’s pretty awesome—they don’t tip over. I’ve found this to be especially helpful when I’ve had my kayak on the water or had my cup sitting on my towel in the sand.

Even better, the company has developed a sustainability initiative called The Toadfish Coalition that is focused on addressing the water quality of our oceans. Each product sold by Toadfish helps replant new oyster reefs, which contributes to helping clean our coastal waters. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, so more oyster reefs mean cleaner waterways for us and the aquatic species that call them home. 

With all of the gear you’ll be bringing along to the beach, you’ll also need the perfect beach bag, and luckily there’s a cool one that will make you feel good about buying it. Sea Bags beach totes are made out of an unlikely material—recycled sails from sailboats. Once a sail has passed its prime, it can be traded in for a Sea Bags product. It will then be made into more bags and totes. They try to use every single inch of fabric and even make small wristlets as well.

Their effort to transform the sails into fashionable bags has kept over 1.5 million pounds of old sails out of landfills where they would sit for centuries. By utilizing these materials, they also prevent the production of new materials, which minimizes their environmental impact. 

Jewelry may not be an actual necessity while lounging on the shoreline, but who doesn’t love cute beach accessories? The interactive bracelets made by Fahlo are a lot of fun for animal lovers, too. Even better, they help out nonprofit organizations that are doing good things for our oceans. They have various lines that feature different animals, including many marine species such as whales and dolphins. Each one allows the wearer to track a real tagged animal via their mobile device. For example, the sea turtle bracelet that I was gifted by a friend allows me to track a female hawksbill sea turtle named Rush.

Each bracelet line offered by Fahlo has a partner charity that makes money from each sale. In my case, the sale of my bracelet helped Sea Turtle Conservancy, the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation group. Since receiving mine, I’ve gifted several other bracelets to friends and family. For example, my mom now wears a shark bracelet that helped support the efforts of Saving the Blue, another nonprofit group focused on marine animal research. 

These are just a handful of my favorite products that are making an effort to protect the oceans and coastlines that make beach days possible. I’m always excited to see more outdoor brands investing in conservation, recycled materials, and cleaner manufacturing practices that protect our oceans and beaches. I encourage you to look deeper into the beach brands you support and learn more about them. The next time you’re shopping for beach gear, take a few extra minutes to learn about the companies behind the products. Doing so will make you feel good about the gear you’re buying for the beach—and will help you justify some of those little indulgences, too.