Our Story: A Decade of Impact
From a Bold Idea to a Global Movement
Topiku was founded in 2015 with a bold claim: “The world’s most sustainable hats.”
Back then, sustainability in fashion was still a niche conversation, and transparency was rare. We launched on Kickstarter with a mission: to prove that responsible business practices could be the catalyst for sustainable community development.
Since day one, we’ve challenged ourselves—and the industry—to answer four fundamental questions:
Who made my hat?
What materials are inside?
Where did it come from?
How is it sustainable?
Answering these questions enabled us to become a certified B-Corp in 2023.
Our Evolution
From DTC to Ethical Supply Chain Partners
When we started, we were a direct-to-consumer brand. We sold hats made from upcycled and recycled materials, telling the stories of our artisans along the way.
But something interesting happened. Over the years, businesses, non-profits, and organizations started coming to us, asking:
"Can you help us produce our headwear more responsibly?"
That’s when we realized: our supply chain was our strongest asset.
So we leaned into it.
Today, we don’t just sell hats—we supply ethical headwear solutions for brands around the world. From small startups to global corporations like Google, IKEA, and The World Bank, we’ve worked with hundreds of organizations that believe in doing business the right way.
Sustainability: What It Means to Us Today
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Materials that reduce waste.
We avoid unncessary resource consumption through the use upcycled & recycled fabrics, repurposed plastic waste, and giving discarded materials a second life.
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A responsible supply chain.
Our artisans in Desa Rahayu, Cigondewah are not just workers. They’re our partners, beneficiaries, and teammates who opened our eyes to the beauty of long-term collaboration.
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A commitment to transparency.
We’ve published the world’s first carbon footprint report for a baseball cap, proving that responsible fashion can be measurable.
Redefining Waste: Behind Every Hat
Upcycled fabrics
Offcuts & deadstock fabrics that would otherwise be discarded.
Recycled plastics
Brims made from salvaged buckets and HDPE plastics.
Recycled metal
Aluminum scraps reshaped into buttons.
Minimal-waste packaging
We’re constantly looking for alternatives to reduce unnecessary packaging materials.
The fashion industry has a waste problem. We see an opportunity.
Instead of sourcing virgin materials, we’ve spent years developing a supply chain that prioritizes waste reduction.
This approach helps us reduce energy use, water consumption, & emissions, aligning with our goal of making hats that are not just beautiful—but truly responsible.
Our Commitment
Beneficial Trade: Ethical Commitments to Our Artisans
The fast fashion industry has a well-documented history of brands pressuring and strong-arming suppliers, often delaying payments and leaving factories uncertain about when—or if—they’ll be paid. Suppliers are forced to chase down invoices, straining cash flow and making it difficult to provide financial security to their workers.
We refuse to operate that way.
At Topiku, we practice Beneficial Trade, ensuring that the artisans and suppliers we work with are paid fairly and on time. Here’s how we do it:
Consistent orders, even during economic downturns – During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when domestic demand dropped, we continued placing orders and even increased our purchasing, helping to keep our artisans' businesses afloat.
Upfront deposits & cash advances – We provide cash advances and deposits on all orders, so artisans never have to front production costs out of their own pockets.
Timely invoice payments – Every invoice is paid before the end of the month, ensuring our artisans can pay their teams on time without uncertainty.
Investment into artisan infrastructure – In April 2024, we provided a $5,000 grant to help our artisans upgrade facilities and purchase new equipment, strengthening their businesses for long-term sustainability.
Charitable giving – Over the last four years, we’ve averaged 7% of our annual revenue in charitable contributions to support community initiatives and further invest in ethical production.
For us, sustainability isn’t just about materials—it’s about building long-term relationships that empower the people behind the products.
Our Artisans:
The Heart of Topiku
Sustainability isn’t just about materials—it’s about people.
Since 2015, we’ve worked with a dedicated team of artisans in Indonesia. These are skilled individuals who take pride in their craft, and through our partnerships, we ensure they receive:
Fair wages that go beyond industry standards.
Safe and ethical working conditions.
Long-term employment opportunities that provide stability.
Many of the artisans who started with us in our early days are still with us today—proof that ethical business can foster real, lasting change.
Our Achievements
The Impact of Choosing a Topiku Hat.
Choosing a Topiku hat means contributing to something bigger. Over the past decade, we’ve achieved:
Climate positive headwear that offsets 10x more than we emit.
370 tons of CO2e offset from 2021-2023 through our Climate Neutral certification.
Thousands of kilograms of textile waste diverted from landfills.
A growing network of artisans empowered through fair employment.
Hundreds of businesses equipped with sustainable headwear solutions.
Dozens of non-profit organizations outfitted with premium quality headwear.
World leaders at the G20 Summit in Bali wearing our custom hats in November 2022.
Beyond the numbers, our biggest impact is cultural. We’re proving that sustainability isn’t just a marketing gimmick—it’s a new way of doing business.
Our Plans
Where We’re Headed Next
Topiku has grown, but our mission remains the same: to prove that ethical business isn’t just possible—it’s necessary.
Here’s what we’re focusing on for the next decade:
Innovating with new sustainable materials – We’re constantly exploring better alternatives that push the boundaries of responsible fashion.
Strengthening our community engagement – Expanding our partnerships with local non-profits to invest further in the communities we work with.
Scaling our impact – More brands, more organizations, and more individuals choosing ethical, sustainable headwear.
So whether you’re a business looking for custom sustainable hats, or just someone who cares about where their products come from—welcome to TOPIKU.
Why it matters:
The problem of Fast Fashion.
80 billion square meters of excess fabric are sent to landfills each year.
Unless a product is designed for zero-waste production, it is impossible to avoid cutting scraps. The larger the quantity of apparel produced, the larger the amount of deadstock or leftover textile waste that is sent to landfills. The amount of underutilized fabrics sent to landfill will continue to grow unless we begin to reevaluate what "waste" actually is.
Source: Reverse Resources
Indonesia is the world’s second largest ocean polluter.
As a developing nation, Indonesia faces many challenges. Inadequate waste management services – yet alone awareness – plague the archipelago, allowing the country to become the world’s second largest ocean polluter. The capital of Jakarta produces a staggering 7000 tons (28.5% plastic) of waste each day. Of the collected trash, only an abysmal rate of 7.5% (2% in rural regions) gets recycled. Currently, Indonesia does not have the proper resources to tackle this growing waste epidemic.
Source: Statista, Kompas, Global Recycling
3.3 billion metrics tons of carbon dioxide was emitted by the apparel industry in 2016.
The apparel industry alone represents 6.7% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The majority of this impact occurs during textile manufacturing, before the assembly of the garment even begins. With global manufacturing concentrated in Asia, GHG emissions in these stages are driven by apparel manufacturing’s reliance on hard coal and natural gas to generate electricity and heat.
Source: Quantis
60 million workers are employed by the garment industry.
Do you know how your product was made? Where did it come from? Who made it? Did you know that 80% of the garment industry workforce is composed of women between the ages of 18-35. As one of the world's largest industries, the garment sector consistently exploits cheap labor and violates human rights in many countries across the globe (mostly in developing nations, but even the United States is not immune to this).
Source: LA Times, Fashion United