Finisterre Celebrate 15th Anniversary With A Royal Visit
Finisterre, founded in 2003 with the help of a Prince’s Trust loan, celebrated their 15th anniversary on the July 16, 2018 with a Royal visit from The Duke of Cornwall and The Duchess of Cornwall (Charles & Camilla). They teamed up with long standing friends, Surfers Against Sewage, to host Ocean Plastic Solution Day, bringing together key stakeholders to present the progress in tackling ocean plastic pollution. Scroll down to see our full our most regal One Eyed Monster of all time.
Tom Kay and His Royal Highness
Finisterre Exclusive for SOURCE: Back in 2003, Finisterre was founded with the help of a Prince’s Trust loan. Fifteen years on, The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and The Duchess of Cornwall, commemorate the brand’s anniversary with a visit to Wheal Kitty.
Meeting with Tom Kay, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall toured Finisterre’s Head Quarters, atop a cliff in St Agnes, North Cornwall. Meeting the team behind the brand, Their Royal Highnesses showed great interest in and support for Finisterre’s path to better business.
“To have Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall visit Finisterre to commemorate our 15th anniversary was a special moment. I founded Finisterre with the help of the Prince’s Trust loan back in 2003. More recently, I wrote to HRH thanking him for his support in the early years, inviting him to visit Wheal Kitty and see our work around sustainability and innovation first-hand. For him to join our anniversary celebrations, witnessing how the business has grown, meeting the team who’ve been fundamental in this journey, and our unwavering commitment to Product, Environment and People, was a real honour. HRH was particularly interested in our work around ocean plastic awareness and using innovation to achieve sustainability, as well as the duties we’ve committed to in order to become a B Corp certified business.” Tom Kay, founder; Finisterre
The Duke of Cornwall was introduced to Finisterre’s Wetsuit Recycling Programme, while the Duchess met with the design team to hear more about their pioneering approach to sustainability through innovation. Outside the workshop, both the Duke and Duchess had the opportunity to meet Lesley Prior and our Bowmont Merino Sheep; presenting natural fibres as an alternative to synthetics, and Finisterre’s commitment to this uniquely British supply chain.
Marking the occasion, as well as Finisterre’s longstanding partnership with neighbours and comrades Surfers Against Sewage, the two organisations took the opportunity to partner in hosting Ocean Plastic Solutions Day. The event brought together key business leaders, innovators, NGOs, politicians, media and other stakeholders to discuss and demonstrate the progress being made towards tackling ocean plastic pollution from source to sea.
Throughout the day, delegates heard inspiring talks from the likes of Lucy Siegle from the BBC One Show, Emma Howard Boyd from the Environment Agency, Richard Walker from Iceland Supermarkets, and United Nations Patron for the Oceans, Lewis Pugh, as well as from Finisterre’s Tom Kay and Hugh Tagholm of Surfers Against Sewage, amongst others.
Bringing together some of the most powerful and influential voices in the quest for cleaner, healthier seas, Ocean Plastic Solutions Day presented a positive view to better future, with the power to bring about great change.
Keep an eye on Finisterre.com for more news from the day and its key note speeches, as well as further events celebrating 15 years of Finisterre.
