Photos: Ben Osborne; Words: Chris Binns

“I guess we developed all these internal questions,” says Soren. “We were young and travelling through these fantastic regions where in theory the kids have very little, yet they were so rad and generous wherever we went. They offered coffee and fruit and endless warmth and smiles, and we started to wonder if there was some way we could return the favour.”

Such is the simple thinking of 30-year-old Soren Molineux, the brains behind Smile – a clothing company he set-up with a couple of mates on the Sunshine Coast a half-decade ago.

Soren’s recent giving program in Sri Lanka allowed for a little downtime.

A few years later, while finishing a double degree at Uni, the answer appeared in the form of American shoe label Toms, which has a one-for-one giving program in place; you buy a pair of their shoes and they give a pair of shoes to an under-privileged kid.

“A mate showed me this edit of what they were up to and straight away the penny dropped. I looked at him and said ‘let’s do this with school uniforms and T-shirts in Indonesia’, and that was it … we knew nothing about clothing, had no clue where to begin with it all, but it felt right, and we figured the rest would take care of itself.”

“I’d studied in Lombok and had heard stories of kids not going to school because they didn’t have uniforms, and anyone who’s travelled the archipelago will know how many kids you see without shirts on, so they really seemed like the logical two things to go for.”

“In 2010, before we had a brand or had sold a single t-shirt, we did our first few clothing drives in Lombok. We had some t-shirts made up, went to Lombok to give them out, and it was incredible! The kids were genuinely chuffed, and we were getting all these vibes and emotions from them that I’d never had before. It’s almost selfish in that regard, but we knew straight away we had to pursue it further.”

All decked out and ready for school.

Soren kept working at the bank for another three-years, dedicating a couple of dozen hours a week and plenty of hard-earned dollars to Smile along the way. His four weeks’ annual leave all went towards three or four giving programs. A couple of T-shirt releases a year on their online store kept some cash coming in, and offered the encouragement they needed to keep following their passion project.

These days Soren lives in Bali, working the email lines all day long as the only fulltime employee. Shaun Denaro, his business partner, is still a banker in Oz, but drives the commercial side and back end of the business. Original partner Jesse Kirley is still in the fold, while Soren’s long time friend Bede Carmine bought in to the brand a few years later and helps out wherever possible.

I play Devil’s Advocate, and ask Soren if living in Bali is a lark, and whether Smile’s giving programs are just paid holidays to go surf the outer reaches of the archipelago.

“I wish that was true!” he laughs.

“To be honest I surf far less now than when I was banking on the Sunny Coast. I’m not going to lie and say we don’t surf on our giving programs, we definitely do, but we don’t choose regions we go to based on that, no way. We’ve done a program in India and didn’t take boards, in Cambodia there were definitely no waves. One of the most rewarding giveaways we’ve done was up in the Gulf Of Carpenteria in the Northern Territory, and we definitely didn’t surf there!

Seafood? This Sri Lankan lunchbreak had a whole Snapper vibe to it.

“We just came back from Sri Lanka, and sure we got waves, but again it wasn’t the focus of the trip. The country has suffered so much with the civil war and the tsunami that it was always going to be a focus for us. After having been there it’s impossible not to fall in love with the people and the place. I’m fine with people knowing we surf, that’s who we are, we’re sea-faring folk and why wouldn’t we try to find waves wherever we are? But it’s an afterthought; it’s not our reason for going to where we do. I don’t see us as a surf brand either, we’re just a brand that happens to be run by guys who surf.”

“There’s definitely a difference in my eyes”.

“We’re an Australian company. I’m paid in Australia but a lot of my work in Bali is overseeing production, looking at samples, having meetings with potential production partners. The majority of our giving programs are here in Indo too, so they need to be organised, plus my minimal wage wouldn’t be enough to live on in Australia, so I really hope nobody thinks I’m just holidaying here, I have valid reasons for being up here.”

I ask Soren where he sees the brand down the track?

“We’re not moving planets, but we just feel like if we can make a difference in our little corner, why can’t someone else? I like being asked questions about our company, we’re definitely for profit and don’t shy away from that, but why don’t people ask those same questions of other companies who operate on far grander scales than we do? Hopefully the world is getting more like that these days. If we can all just do something, no matter how small, then that’s a cool trajectory for consumers on the whole.”

The Smile boys may not be moving planets, but they are making a world of difference to many children.

Don’t just take our word about the good stuff these guys are up to. Smile were recently written about in Screw Business As Usual, Richard Branson’s philanthropic platform, and has just been accepted into Patagonia founder Yves Chouinard’s 1% For The Planet program.

Want to be involved? Click https://smileclothing.co to follow along with the company’s latest ramblings. Or give them a follow on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/smileclothingco/