Sustainability

Beautiful felt with a story to match

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Close-up of a beaver's head that becomes a coypu (nutria) as you scroll, same pose and the same rich fur.

A Sustainable Alternative to Beaver

We started Sunrise because we wanted felt we'd be proud to put in our own hats, both in the hats it produces, and in where it comes from. Here's the story behind every body we sell.

Why we leave beaver alone: Beavers are keystone animals. Their dams create the ponds and wetlands that countless other species depend on, and when beaver numbers fall, whole rivers feel it.


Why coypu: Coypu, also known as nutria, were brought to Louisiana and other states for fur farming in the 1930s, specifically for their use in the booming hat industry. Some escaped, and their numbers exploded across marshes where they eat the grasses that hold wetlands together and burrow into levees. Because of that damage, many communities work to manage coypu populations, and we put that fur to use instead of letting it go to waste.

Felted by family: Our bodies are felted in South America by a family Willee has worked alongside for over a decade.  They are dyed with naturally derived dyes from Sweden and stiffened with an old school natural lacquer.

Llama leather sweatbands: Our sweatbands are cut from soft llama leather that supports ancestral Andean llama herds.

Every material we use comes from somewhere living, so we try to take with gratitude and leave things in better balance than we found them.

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