OUR STORY
A father, a daughter, and an organic cotton farmer.
PuraKai, 2012 to today.
WHERE IT STARTED
A dad and daughter, both surfers.
She grew up sharing her dad's passion for the ocean. In 2012, they decided the clothing they wore should protect the ocean they spent their lives in. They found California's sole organic cotton farmer, and PuraKai was born. Pura, pure in Spanish. Kai, ocean in Hawaiian.
It's the belief that what we wear should protect the rivers, lakes, and streams that flow into Mother Ocean.
MADE BY NATURE SINCE 2012
From 2012 to Present
We started with organic cotton from the very beginning. Early on we sourced it domestically, one of the first brands working with organic cotton grown in the USA.
Over time we learned that the answer required more than just the right fiber. It required the right supply chain. We moved to GOTS-certified organic cotton from India, where the certification infrastructure and scale could match what we needed. We built a domestic finishing process so the knitting, cutting, sewing, and dyeing all happen in the USA.
FOURTEEN YEARS LATER
Mom of three. Still on a mission.
Megan is a mom of three boys, 8, 4, and 2. Her dad is a grandfather now. Still surfing.
PuraKai is still family-owned. Same vision, same desire, make sustainable clothing and donate a portion of sales to protect the ocean for future generations.
GIVING BACK
Since day one.
Giving back has been part of PuraKai since the year we were founded. Every year since 2012, a portion of our revenue has gone to ocean conservation nonprofits. It's not a campaign. It's not seasonal. It's how we built the business.
When you start a company because you love the ocean, giving back isn't an add-on. It's the whole point.
TWO FABRIC FAMILIES
Pure and Pureflex.
Everything we make comes from one of two fabric families. Both start with GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Pure
Tees, tanks, hoodies, joggers, shorts, underwear. The basics, made from nothing but organic cotton. Breathes, softens with every wash, biodegrades at end of life.
Pureflex
Leggings, bras, crops, compression shorts. Activewear that's still 92% organic cotton. Available in double-lined and single-layer constructions.
Certified Organic
Lab Tested
Made Domestically
LEGALLY ACCOUNTABLE
Licensed by the State of California.
In 2026, PuraKai earned its Garment Manufacturers and Contractors Registration from the California Department of Industrial Relations. We studied for the state competency exam, passed it, and our certificate is posted at our Los Angeles County facility, where the law says every employee must be able to read it.
Under California's Garment Worker Protection Act, garment employees are generally paid by the hour, not by piece rate. At PuraKai, everyone who sews is paid hourly. If workers are not paid what the law requires, they can take a claim directly to the California Labor Commissioner, and the manufacturers and brands that contract for the work are jointly responsible for specified unpaid wages. That responsibility includes us.
A certificate for the fabric
Our organic cotton fabric is GOTS-certified. Approved auditors inspect certified manufacturers on an annual cycle, and serious violations can end the certificate. That is what a private certification can do, and it matters.
A license for the people
A license is not a program we chose to join. It is the law of the state where we work, and the consequences for breaking it are written in the California Labor Code, not in a membership agreement.
We carry both
Certified organic cotton fabric, sewn in our own licensed Los Angeles facility, under what the State of California itself calls nation-leading garment worker protections.
You do not have to take our word for it. Verify our registration in the State of California's public database, by name or by registration number. Read the full story of our California license.
THE HONEST LIMITS
What we don't claim
Transparency means being honest about what we don't do, not just what we do.
We don't grow organic cotton in the USA
Our GOTS organic cotton is grown and spun in India. The certification infrastructure isn't available domestically at the scale we need. Every other step happens here.
We don't make our own spandex
The 8% spandex in Pureflex is synthetic. Nobody makes plant-based stretch fiber at scale yet. We use the minimum needed and pair it with 92% organic cotton.
We don't claim zero impact
Making clothes has a footprint. Ours is dramatically smaller than petroleum-based alternatives, but we won't pretend it's zero.
BREATHE PURE. LIVE PURE.
Worth a closer look.
Two fabric families. One standard. See what organic cotton actually feels like.