Written by PAGE Editor

A love of nature is an essential part of being a Californian. So too is an adventurous spirit, optimism, and a dogged tenacity in the face of adversity. Whether it’s a surfer, a tech entrepreneur, a doctor, or an environmentalist, California is a place where the natural environment both calms and spurs to action.

And this unique mix of attributes serves as the backdrop that takes us back to our California roots, as well as an exciting new three-year partnership between Dockers and Waves For Water founder Jon Rose. 

Called “Work Forward,” the partnership stems from the idea that anything can be accomplished, no matter how daunting, so long as hard work, commitment, and forward momentum are at the forefront. It’s nothing fancy, just one foot in front of the other until the task is done.

And Rose, a leading humanitarian and former pro surfer, is someone who perfectly embodies both the Work Forward ethos and the laid back California vibe.

Originally from Laguna Beach, Rose possesses the native Californian’s unique mix of relaxed attitude and dogged tenacity. Traits that serve him well as a humanitarian, and that also came in handy during his previous career as a professional free surfer. Hunting waves in exotic locales may qualify as a dream job, but it requires commitment, preparation and adaptability.

You’re traveling to remote locations, negotiating with locals, navigating foreign cultures, and generally surviving on a mix of wits, experience, and luck.

“I didn’t realize it at the time,”

says Rose.

“But I was doing civil affairs work as a pro surfer.”

It wasn’t until tragedy struck, however, that Rose found the real value of his unique background. On September 30, 2009, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Padang on the island of Sumatra. By a stroke of fate, Rose, who was on his way back to the city after a surf trip in the Mentawais, had ten water filters with him. He’d originally intended to donate them to a village in Sumatra, but, seeing Padang’s devastation, instead delivered them to relief stations all around the city. In that moment Rose, who’d been at a crossroads in life, discovered his true calling. 

Waves For Water, the organization born out of that tragedy, aims to help end the global water crisis by supplying portable water filtration systems to communities without access to clean water, digging and renovating bore-hole wells, and constructing rainwater harvesting and storing systems. To date, Waves For Water has given over 3 million people access to clean water in over 44 countries. 

And while Waves For Water has helped supply clean drinking water around the world for ten years now, Dockers, a brand also born in California, has spent that same ten years using Dockers Water<Less—a process that saves up to 73% of the typical amount of water used during the dyeing and finishing processes—to help reduce the brand’s environmental footprint. For the Spring 2020 season alone, over 20 million liters of water was saved during the finishing stages of Dockers production.

And while that’s just a start, it’s yet another stride towards working to make Dockers one of the most sustainable apparel brands on the planet. Which is what makes the new three year partnership with Jon Rose and Waves For Water such an exciting prospect. It’s a way to leverage the talents of both to ensure a better future for people all over the world. 

It’s also a way to shift the mindset of what Dockers can be. Thanks to the shared values of both Rose and Dockers—values that include a willingness to never give up, a recognition of the power of community, a love of nature, and a desire to see social justice and environmental sustainability reach every part of the globe—a platform has been created to inspire others to take action.

And that’s the real goal—to create a ripple effect that ignites true and lasting transformation all around the world. 

“What interests me is commitment,”

says Rose.

“We have the solutions, we know what can be done. Now who’s going to step up and commit? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist as long as you have a crazy work ethic. And if you simply do the thing you say you’re going to do, so much can be accomplished.”

The Dockers® x Jon Rose “Work Forward” fall campaign launches on September 16, 2020.

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