Kadu is a waterwear company that specializes in creating high quality, technically superior surf shorts. Inspired by the artisan touch of ancient Indonesian Ikat weaving and dedicated to the cultures that make them, KADU is a luxury waterwear brand with a conscience.
Built to withstand serious surf and sophisticated play, KADU performance board shorts, created by surf legend Terry Simms, are designed to endure the test of time, trend and tide. Paying homage to classic surf trunk design, KADU elevates and refines the form by utilizing the highest quality materials, stitching and hardware available. The limited edition, one-of-a-kind designed fabrics, are printed and hand sewn in the USA. The end result is an ageless piece of mens swimwear destined to become a wardrobe staple.
“We were dissatisfied with what was available on the market,” explains co-founder and pro surfer Terry Simms. “Interesting visuals were missing in men’s swimwear. We set out to design a technically superior board short that would last for several seasons of rough wear, be loose and comfortable in the water, plus withstand the extreme demands of tropical sun, sand and waves. With all that, we wanted our product to be elegant and refined on land, transferring seamlessly from the day’s aquatic activities to sunset cocktails.”
The name “KADU” comes from a Sumba dialect and refers to the horns of the water buffalo. Water buffalo, a permanent fixture in the Sumba landscape, are symbols of power, wealth and pride. The more buffalo a clan owns, the greater their prestige in the community. When arranged in a tier motif, the horns represent a ladder to the higher heavens. We like this metaphor, as it reminds us of surfing’s ultimate quest and our goal as a company to keep pushing farther and going higher.
As surfers, we have a responsibility to help care for the places and people we encounter along our wave-hunting journeys. When visiting islands throughout the Indian Ocean, for example, the hardships and problems endemic to these tropical communities are readily apparent. Sumba, despite its vibrant culture and beautiful landscapes, remains one of the poorest islands in the Indonesian archipelago.
After experiencing, firsthand, the direct impact and effectiveness of the Sumba Foundation on the local Sumbanese community, KADU was inspired to collaborate with the foundation and support their mission. The Sumba Foundation’s humanitarian efforts include a highly successful malaria eradication program, dozens of water well projects, and a growing network of health clinics and schools.
KADU donates 1% of our total sales directly toward the Sumba Foundation’s water well projects (www.sumbafoundation.org). Access to clean water for drinking and cooking is one of the many difficulties the local population faces daily. It is very common for women and children on Sumba to spend several hours each day walking back and forth to water wells that are miles away. Within months of installing each new well, though, dramatic changes can be seen in these villages. When safe and clean drinking water is nearby, the overall health and well being of the community is greatly improved – there is less disease, more children attend school, and economic enterprises such as farming can better develop.
Water wells transform communities. Your purchase of KADU trunks will help us help them.
KADU fully supports adding Article 31 to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 31: Everyone has the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual economic circumstance.
Please visit http://article31.org/ to learn more and sign the petition to adopt Article 31.
By actively sharing the model set forth on Sumba at Nihiwatu, KADU hopes to inspire surfers and water enthusiasts to be more conscious about their tourism choices and how they spend their fashion dollars.
Environmental sustainability is important to us, and KADU continuously seeks greener materials and the most eco-friendly production and materials available. By doing simple things such as recycling our scrap trunk fabric to create drawstrings, we found a new use for remnants that would have otherwise become landfill waste.
As KADU grows and our production models change, we promise to strive to find innovative ways to be a more responsible company. As we search for waves, new adventures, and for new source materials, we lighten our carbon footprint by working alongside like-minded companies in the travel industry.
We extend a huge Thank You to Nihiwatu, our Sumba travel partner, for being a pioneer in the field of responsible tourism.
