mission
Our appreciation of the great outdoors inspires our products and materials - and motivates us to protect the Earth.
Terrestrial was founded on the mission of developing carbon-negative composites to help mitigate the climate crisis. To this end, we have developed our own technology for producing bio-composites, working with suppliers and researchers to manufacture fully bio-based materials that are comparable in strength and performance to traditional petroleum-based carbon fiber composites.
After launching our prototypes at Outdoor Retailer in 2024, we turned our attention to sourcing US-grown fiber hemp - which has only become available in recent months, as this nascent industry finds its feet. Until legalized in 2018, the material that let Europeans sail to the new world (canvas = cannabis) had not been grown legally in the US since 1937 - giving China an 80-year head start to industrialize the world’s strongest natural fiber. Yet as we learned, their methods tend to involve the use of toxic chemicals dumped directly into natural lagoons to soften hemp stalks for processing, among other social and sustainability issues. Thus we decided to source our hemp from the US.
Partnering with suppliers and biochemists in the US and Europe, we have been working to optimize and scale up the processing of mechanically decorticated (separated) hemp fiber - using eco-friendly methods, such as hydrothermal, ultrasonication, and enzyme treatment, to avoid using toxic petroleum-based chemicals that endanger workers and the environment.
Our unique small-scale manufacturing methods, which leverage 3D printed patterns and composite tooling, allow us to iterate quickly by testing new designs and new materials without significant investment, which would lock us into a particular design or solution. As we currently produce at volumes a step up from lab-scale, prices for our handcrafted gear reflect the care and attention that leading-edge technology requires. While most brands would have gone to Asia to find a turnkey manufacturer, we’re going the extra mile to do it ourselves - because we think the Earth is worth the effort.
Our vision
Very few companies today make their own gear. Most big brands have delegated nearly every step of the process to overseas factories - from industrial design to production - which means they are essentially marketing & distribution operations.
From a profit motive, this makes sense - specialization is efficient. The flip side is a loss of knowledge and therefore control of how products are made; making it difficult to enact real change. When we first started, we asked factories if they would be able to make our products using hemp, and they simply refused - as an unknown material, it was too high-risk.
Our long-term goal is to be fully replace petroleum-based carbon fiber composite with a cheaper, more durable, and carbon-negative material - in the outdoor industry and beyond. By taking a hands-on approach to developing our products, we want to ensure that the tools we use to appreciate the natural environment are also helping to preserve, rather than destroy it.
