Planting seeds for a better tomorrow.
The seeds for The AboveBoard Co. began with family. When we were young, our parents provided us with awareness that our actions will drive consequences. In our micro view of the world, we knew that if we acted with good intentions, we would be rewarded with positive outcomes and vice-versa. With simple upbringings, our parents created a balanced environment of strength and flexibility. Sacrifices of material wants were met with love and compassion. We were constantly reminded to be grateful. That if we search, we will come to understand that people and experiences make us stronger, even those we do not get to experience firsthand. This grounded notion stayed with us beyond childhood and created a curious need to do better and create a mindful and sustainable world. The world was our stage. An audience of familiar and unfamiliar faces was wishing us well.
As we passed through the wonder years and entered adulthood, we found ourselves in two very different environments, serving in the military and college life. Each one brought different challenges and opportunities but a few things stayed consistent. Actions drive consequences, good intentions manifest positive outcomes and experiences along with connections make us stronger.
Diversity created awareness
We were learning how to be citizens of the world. Having responsibility of “who we are” was real. The choices we were making had an impact on oneself, others and the environment, even if we were incognizant of the connection. Interconnectedness is a force. This was a new level of awareness. It was exciting!
Toward the end of our college years, we came across an excerpt from the Dalai Lama stating that most Buddhists are vegetarian simply to treat all sentient beings with compassion. Simple, yet powerful. Choosing vegetarian options became a lifestyle. Now, vegan options are our norm.
We feel that a vegetarian lifestyle is a compassionate one, in addition to having positive impacts on both health and environment. With this understanding, we realized that mindful choices made us feel better. We quietly remembered what our parents taught us about gratitude and forces that drive the world, visible or not.
Over the years, mindful choices have led us to support sustainable practices like organic farming, eliminating chemicals from health and household products, water conservation, recycling and reducing plastic waste, among other practices.
Mindful clothing surfaces
What is next? To our own surprise, clothing! The fashion industry is reported to be the second dirtiest industry in the world next to oil. We found this to be unnecessary harm to all that is impacted. With our understanding that actions drive consequences and good intentions bring positive outcomes, we decided to take action.
Our goal is to create mindful clothing by way of sustainable practices made for everyday explorations, whether you are resting, on the go or enjoying your favorite practice. This is our way to plant seeds for a better tomorrow. We can cultivate a mindful and sustainable world with what we choose to wear.
AboveBoard is a movement
AboveBoard is the awareness that the world is our stage to do better. We can choose products that are coercion and cruelty free. We can choose products that support safe work environments and local living wages. We can choose products that reduce our environmental impact by conserving biodiversity, keeping water sources clean and waste out of landfills. We can choose products that are high-quality and AboveBoard. AboveBoard is a reminder that we are interconnected. AboveBoard is a by-product of who we are and our curious need to do better.
As our seeds continue to grow, we are reminded that sustainability is the practice of conscious and collective actions that manifest stable and harmonious outcomes. And that taking action together makes us stronger. We ask you to make mindful and sustainable choices whenever possible. Together we can make this our greatest experience yet. We wish you well.
The idea
The AboveBoard Co. began in San Diego, CA as an idea for a clothing brand to be a globally recognized voice for interconnectedness. Inspired by conscious minds and compassionate hearts, we create quality products by way of sustainable practices to encourage mindful engagement with the world.
