Our Story

From a very young age, I was completely fascinated by our planet's aquatic ecosystems. I can remember like it was yesterday opening my fifth grade science textbook and seeing a picture of Coho Salmon swimming through the ocean. From that moment, my life began, I went straight home and begged and I mean begged my mom to let me get my first fish tank. From there it has been a complete obsession – and obsession is the perfect word to describe it. Every waking moment, from countless aquariums, fishing, scuba diving, you name it; I was doing it. I eventually obtained a Masters of Science in Fish Biology on, you guessed it, salmon. Unfortunately, through the combination of my academic background and complete immersion, I have witnessed the devastating effects that pollution and climate change have had on the coral reefs of our world. 

Now I want you to imagine... imagine something you are so in love with disappearing from the planet and feeling as though there was nothing you could do to help. For me, the rare beauty of the coral reefs was only part of this love story. A living structure, symbiotic in nature but critical to the mass diversity found in a world we barely understand. I simply cannot express the feeling I get when I see a coral reef. As such, I felt as though it was my duty to help.

Ok, let's be real... 

I'm not so naive to think that just passion or love can fix a problem like this. In this world, it takes money. Thus, leading to my first attempt at raising funds for coral reef conservation. Selling low-quality t-shirts and asking in return, people reach from their hearts to their wallets and pay me for the overpriced t-shirts in return for a donation to the reefs. For me, it didn't seem right.

The Begining of Something Special: A Movement

And at that moment, For the Reef was born. Here we build the core values of conservation directly into the model of our business. This way, we offer high-quality apparel to the people who deserve it most, all the while, funding impactful conservation projects. This way, as we grow so does our impact. To go one step further, we want to change the plague of "Fast Fashion" which has caused the horrific amount of microplastics to enter our planet's aquatic environments. For the Reef believes that enough is enough. As such, zero microplastics are used in our clothing, which leads to a much higher quality and more comfortable fabric.

Our mission is simple...

We thank you for joining us in our fight for change. 

Mitch