Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019 - 36

Feature .02
"and was only open when someone was around
to staff it," laughs Freudiger. Soon people were
flocking there for Equator's sustainably roasted
fair trade coffees, its teas, and its baked goods.
"Why that corner and that spot? It's hard to
know," says Freudiger. "It's the wrong side of the
street for commuters. It's on a main drag. It's a
little harsh environmentally. And it's packed every day. But I think when you find a place that's
authentic and you feel welcome, you're going
to support it."
WHY PROOF LAB? "Surf shops, fancy camping
stores, and skate parks can be very exclusive
feeling places, where you walk in and not feel
cool enough," says Freudiger. "But [at the skate
ramp, for instance] they have adult skate nights,
female skate nights, and kid skate nights, where
everyone's welcome. That's Proof Lab's magic.
It's very intentional."
SUSTAINABILITY MISSION: Equator fills all of the sustainability buckets and then some. For the full
picture, visit equatorcoffees.com.

CNL Native Plant Nursery,
owner Dan Dufficy
CONNECTION: Dufficy knew Hutchinson when

they were both high schoolers growing up in
Marin County. Though they went to different
schools, they bonded through surfing. Dufficy
was also already a landscaper, working under
a California native plants expert named Paul
O'Donnell. Over time, instead of attending college, Dufficy also became a native plants expert,
and in 2010 when Hutchinson dreamed up the
Grow Art & Education Center, he was first in
line to join the mission. When it became clear
that people wanted their gardens built for them,
Dufficy pivoted. "Now, out of the nursery, we're
putting thousands and thousands of native
plants into people's gardens," he says, which is
helping to do things like attract Monarch butterflies facing extinction. (He sells and promotes the use of native milkweed, the only
plant the Monarch lays its eggs on.) And with
O'Donnell operating on the opposite side of
Mount Tamalpais, the two have a direct impact
on the environmental health of Marin County.
O'Donnell is getting up in years, and Dufficy
says he'll retire, so Dufficy will play a much bigger part in the effort.
WHY PROOF LAB? "Will is so community oriented.
He wants to create a full-on community in Tam
Junction. He's doing it one piece at a time, and
it blows me away that we have the opportunity
to be there," says Dufficy.

36 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Summer 2019

UNIVERSAL APPEAL
Clockwise from top left: Barista
Madison Toy at Equator Coffees &
Teas. Jack Bodine at Proof Lab Surf
Shop. The merchandising on Proof
Lab's main floor. Marissa Arango at
CNL Native Plants Nursery.

"If I wanted to make
money I'd sell chemical-laden and non-native
plants," says Dufficy. "But it's not about the money; it's about teaching the community how to
keep our mountains and dirt healthy."
SUSTAINABILITY MISSION:

Big Dog Surf Camp,
owner Ian Glover
CONNECTION: Glover was living with Hutchinson,

going to college and bartending when the Proof
Lab plan began to hatch. "I'd worked at a couple different surf camps, and the guys were like,
'Hey, why don't you run your own camp out of
the shop?'" Tweleve years later, Glover operates Big Dog throughout the summer with 15
instructors teaching hundreds of kids. Those
groms are lucky. "We gather at the shop and
find the best beach to surf," says Glover. "Then

we go catch waves, play soccer, and chill. After,
we get ice cream." And though it's growing, he's
trying to keep the vibe of a small camp. "It's cool
to watch them get turned on to the scene. Joe,
who works at Proof Lab Surf, was a student of
mine 12 years ago and now he's helping others
get stoked."
WHY PROOF LAB? "At the end of the day, we all like
to mess around and heckle each other and have
something that feels like family," says Glover.
SUSTAINABILITY MISSION: "We don't get good waves
in Marin, but we enjoy the area," says Glover.
"I focus on enjoying the surfing and fostering the community as the key point instead of
just pushing kids into waves. It feels more sustainable. If you're not a surfer you leave pretty quickly. But it's the whole community that
makes you feel fulfilled, and going to the beach
and catching up with all of your friends." O.R.

http://www.equatorcoffees.com

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2019

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