How Australian Outdoor Brand Zorali Embraces a "Less Is More" Mentality

The story of Aussie outdoor apparel company Zorali is one of romance. Within a year of getting married, sun-bleached blondies Cam and Elise Greenwood launched the outdoor apparel company in 2019 on the heels of shuttering Cam’s other label, Monsta Surf. A certain California-based energy drink company of a similar name had come for him with a trademark claim. And after draining his bank account trying to fight the caffeinated corporation, he realized giving up the company presented a new opportunity.

“A lot of people would say, ‘I love your surf brand but I don’t surf,’” Cam tells me when we recently spoke. “I would always be going, it’s not about surfing, it’s about getting outside.” From this common interaction of misplaced adoration grew the initial idea for Zorali.

So the newlyweds crawled further into bed together, merging their shared love of outdoor adventure with their respective professional experiences—Elise as a women’s clothing designer at Australian surf brand Rip Curl and Cam as the bootstrapping small business guy.

Zorali—which the Greenwoods say is a combination of the ancient Persian word for “fearless” and an African word for “full of life”—started out with an array of outdoor lifestyle clothing and travel gear, like the cargo-style Venture Pants and vintage rucksack-reminiscent Escapade Backpack. “We felt like we were on a bit of a treadmill at the start, always trying to keep up with what other brands were doing,” Elise says.

To get a better handle on things, the company put a pause on designing new product for over a year. Instead, they focused on refining its existing gear and sourcing new suppliers who abide by social and environmental ethics. In 2022, Zorali became a certified B Corp.

Today, nearly all products are made with recycled or organic fibers and shipped in biodegradable packaging. Zorali also partners with Green Story to track its carbon footprint through the entire manufacturing process, from farm to factory to freight. Once it tallies up the carbon emissions generated, it funds projects to counteract those emissions through reforestation, solar farming, and social initiatives.

For the time being, sleeping bags and mats as well as tents are the only big-ticket equipment pieces in inventory—the lineup is still mostly apparel. The most technical piece in the range is the Horizon 3L Rain Jacket made from 100 percent post consumer recycled materials with PFC-free coatings. And the company recently introduced Merino wool shirts (a long sleeve and a tee) sourced from the wool of the esteemed Australian sheep.

Oh, and don’t forget about beach and bush appropriate footwear to complete the full fit. The Trailblazer Sandal has a high-traction outsole designed for the outback and comes in seven muted colors. If socks and hiking sandals is your thing, they also offer hemp and Merino socks, naturally.)

With Zorali going on six years now, outdoorsy Australians and Kiwis are well acquainted with the brand. (For example, the 13,000-member-strong Zorali Outdoor Club organizes day trips and overnighters throughout the year.) The rest of the world is catching on. About 15 percent of revenue now comes from the U.S., with Scandinavia and Canada increasingly popping up on shipping labels, too.

A benefit of a business becoming more self-sustaining is more time to actually do what inspired the band in the first place—camping, hiking, and surfing, with their Golden Retriever Koda in tow of course. “Cam and I are wired for that adventure, and we thrive off unknowns,” Elise tells me. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to do that as a couple and see it thrive.”

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