Conner Hats

Meet Bill and Will Conner, the father and son hat team behind Conner Hats, an American and Australian homemade hat company that thrives in simplicity.

Bill BC Conner was introduced to leatherwork in the 60's, when the concept of individually crafting products by hand was considered old-fashioned. Despite popular opinion, BC honed his leatherworking skills until he moved to Australia with his wife Marion, 11-month-old Will, and various leather hat and sandal designs.

By 1982, BC had hired his first employees and started a small factory, with the intention to make every hat with the same handcrafted care and quality that he always gave them. In 1986, when the movie Crocodile Dundee was released, featuring the classic Aussie leather brim hat, Bill's business exploded, eventually awarding him the Small Business Exporter of the Year Award.

Today, you can still find Bill surfing his favorite spots as the sun rises, and later, checking the factory for the hand-made quality he cherishes. The only difference? You'll often find him with his son, Will Conner, the surfer/musician who transformed BC Hats into the Conner Hats brand. By designing styles beyond what BC Hats offered, Will was able to grow their business, and in turn, grow their impact.

Starting off as one man with a skill, Conner Hats has grown to be an international force, embracing responsible business practices and sustainable innovation.
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Conner Hats

The slogan "responsibly grown" beautifully made means more to Bill and Will than just high quality organic cotton hats; it encourages them to never stop asking the hard questions about their business model, and to always seek out solutions that lighten their social and environmental footprint. By committing the time and resources to create a transparent picture of how Conner Hats impacts the world via material sourcing, design, production, and shipping, they are able to address and reduce their overall footprint. Operating out of dual factories in St. Augustine, Florida, and Byron Bay, Australia, Conner Hats exists to make the world a better place through innovative, sustainable design and social responsibility. They feel it a responsibility to use organic cotton over conventional cotton whenever possible, incorporating it in their sweatbands, linings, and exteriors, to give you a low impact and toxin-free alternative to the fabrics you love. In the St. Augustine factory, Will has made it an initiative to use 100% recycled paper in everything from catalogs to office supplies. They close the loop by recycling all paper and cardboard, and reuse most of their boxes to save energy and trees. Always looking to improve, in 2015 the St. Augustine factory added 58 solar panels to their warehouse, powering 100% of Conner Hat's electrical needs! Coming from two coastal cities, Will and Bill knew that they wanted to make reducing single use plastic one of the primary goals of all levels of Conner Hats. That's why they do everything they can to remove any and all plastic from entering our waterways, from a whole line of hats made from recycled plastic bottles, to the use of biodegradable string instead of plastic connectors to hang tags. Each hat is sent on a flat section of cardboard, instead of wasteful plastic bags, with woven labels made from recycled P.E.T plastic!

Time Well-Spent

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