Art of tri - new clothing company

Triathlon Forum
1

2 points to mention to begin with:

  1. I asked Dan about doing this and he kindly said to go ahead
  2. I have an equity stake in art of tri, just so my cards are on the table, but it is the vision of a friend of mine, Toby Jones.

Here we go:

art of tri is a new company that is launching itself in the US and also online via the website www.artoftri.com.

The aim of art of tri is offer quality casual clothing that captures the spirit, passion and dedication of triathletes. All clothing is made from 100% certified organic cotton sourced from co-operative farms in India and Turkey. All art of tri clothes are manufactured in factories that conform to the strictest ethical manufacturing codes of conduct. Packaging is 100% biodegradable, printed materials are made from 100% recycled paper and printed using soy ink.

5% of the purchase price of any of the items will go to direct action charity projects.

Toby is currently based in LA and was at Redondo last weekend for the tri race there.

As I said, it is a launch and so there is some brand awareness happening with the help of some stores in the area. There will also be a presence at a few races coming up as well. However, please take a look at the website for the current range and you can purchase from the site as well. There is also a page to ask questions and get in contact with Toby if you so wish.

You can abuse me as much as you like for this post, but at least take a look before you do. We’re trying to be socially and environmentally responsible while also producing great clothes for triathletes.

Thanks and thanks again Dan.
Chris

2

Looks nice.

3

seems cool but i would get actual pics of the shirts (a la j crew) rather than an artists rendition. It makes it hard to know what they’ll actually look like.

Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com

4

Photos being done in the next few months.

In the meantime, there will be stock in a few stores in the LA area in the next week (Fleet, Edge).

I believe the website will have the details when they are ready to go.

5

Neat idea and best of luck. However, I can’t remember the last time that I trained or raced in anything cotton. While they may not fit with your organic theme, the new synthetic materials are far superior in terms of cooling, drying, etc. Maybe you can branch out into other areas - like tri-themed T-shirts that would be worn as casual clothing, or into other sports where cotton is still the norm?

6

I think he’s saying that they aren’t training clothes; they are casual clothes.

I think that’s a great idea b/c I can always use something to throw on after the pool or after a workout+shower. I am always en route to somewhere after I finish my workouts (usually somewhere with food), and it’s great to pull on something cool and comfy without having to ‘dress up.’

7

Definitely casual. There are hoodies and long sleeve shirts for those of you that live in places that get cool, naturally that is and not because of over-zealous people holding the aircon controls!

8

I applaud you for not taking the easy route and starting yet another ‘ironic’ t-shirt company.

So the shirts are not made in the US. Where are they made? Are they screened where they are made?

If you don’t use pesticides, how do you keep bugs from eating your crop?

Good luck with your company. It’s a tough business - especially since you don’t have a line of training-wear to back up your line. Still, you seem to have a market to yourself of Tri-driven casual clothes- they look better than most race Ts I’ve gotten. .

9

You should find most questions answered on the website.

Organic farming practices are monitored by the groups that award the organic certifications. There are plant and natural repellents that get used, but also if you encourage helpful insects and birds, for example, the nastier ones often end up as part of the food chain rather than chemicals becoming part of the food chain and doing unthinkable damage at a micro ands macro level. I think, however, that talking about the passion behind this and argument for organic and environmentally friendly and responsible acts is best left for another place.

10

I want a white hoodie. Do these retail in Singapore…if so, where? I’m up there in a couple weeks…

11

No retail outlets here yet, but all products can be ordered off the website. There will also be some stores on the West Coast stocking the products in the next few days. You can always pop a question to Toby off the ‘contact us’ section on the site.

The white hoodies are very cool.

12

Cool, organic cotton… how about…

BAMBOO!

Please, please, please be the first company to offer athletic clothing in bamboo. I don’t mean casual shirts and shorts that double as “workout wear” I mean dedicated, sport specific bamboo clothing.

13

That would be perfect for when I run with my panda.

14

funny you should mention that…

art of tri is looking at bamboo fibers as well. It has many benefits, with the last one being that the products are bio-degradable. So, if you offset the carbon emissions of transporting them you are left with an almost zero footprint product which is actually a very ‘technical’ fiber as it is hypoallergenic, absorbant, and fast-drying. It is naturally anti-bacterial and will not hold odor. Like other natural fibers, it allows the body to breathe as the fabric absorbs the sweat away from the body.

15

hey Chris thanks for the plug!

Really appreciate all the comments and feedback, always hard launching a new business and more so using organic cotton! We are keeping to post and pre race casual gear and the hoodies are perfect for those early morning trips to the pool!! Everything is casual orientated and there are so many tri race and training companies out there that it’s never been my intention to touch lyrca, dri fit or man made fibres.

We’ve got Bamboo on the horizon and I am looking into that now…of course all depends on how we do now in getting the word round about art of tri :slight_smile:

Bamboo training gear is on the design board too, but you need to mix it with 5% spandex to keep a good shape but in all honesty organic bamboo cotton rocks for thermal, cooling and wicking qualities.

As for the site, well the CAD product images are up there until I have got friends (in my Club) to help model the gear, but if you really need then email me, or us and we can send you a photo!

Our organic cotton comes from Turkey, but is made in China - have any of you had Tsingtao beer? Yes…?!! Well our factory is a small family run business in Quindao, the same region Tsingtao beer comes from…side tracking here when the Germans landed they got homesick and made their own brewery - yep you guessed it they started the Tsingtao brewery!!! Don’t you just love the germans and their beer!!!

The screens, packing and production is all done in Quindao, I’ve been there - factory is about the size of 2 tennis courts and they take care of their workers paying them well above the local standard salary…still bugger all to us in the western world.

Anyhow, as for pesticides…well that’s down to mother nature! Often farmers will put in other crops like corn around the cotton trees to attract the bugs, and it works - so the bugs go to the corn or plant used to attract them…guess the old bees to honey trick has many versions :slight_smile:

Aside all that art of tri is pretty exciting stuff! Any feedback is appreciated and if any of you see me at a race expo come over and say hi. Launching a new business is always exciting and nerve racking and stuffs up all training plans… :slight_smile: but any help is getting us known is cool and of course the feedback and comments are great, I appreciate them.

16

Good on you!

Just one question:
How do you control they were produced “in factories that conform to the strictest ethical manufacturing codes of conduct”?

Cheers
uli

17

Thanks Uli - I went up to the factory myself, talked to them, looked over their set up, how they treat their employees and so on. Good thing for us is that it is a family run business and there are no main management offices, everyone in admin works round a large table, very open plan and trendy for the Chinese! The staff work set hours a day and on a rotary system with days off.

I am still looking at, and sourcing new factories and production opportunities.

18

As of now it’s all tops. Are you considering bringing in other types of clothing? Hats, visors, lounge pants, thinigs like that?

19

yes, looking at other items, top of list is shorts. we might do warm weather beanie style hats. there is lots more in the pipeline once we start getting rolling.

20

Hey Toby
Really good idea and love the ethical and charity angle - I hope you do well.
I have a question on sizing - couldn’t see anything on the site.
I’m a bigger athlete and wondered what size chest is an XL?
Same for all the tops?
Good luck man…!