Our History

Our Story

From humble beginnings to putting people and the planet first, we’re equally proud of our roots and pumped for the future. Pull up a chair, this one’s a good story.

The Origin

The early stitches of Toad are sewn in 1991 as founder Jessica Nordhaus makes upcycled toque hats for friends in her Colorado garage. She names her new company Horny Toad as an homage to the squat lizard she loved to chase in her New Mexico backyard. In 1996, Gordon Seabury takes the helm, and he continues to be our CEO to this day.

The First 10 Years: Where It All Began

• The first Horny Toad store opens in Telluride with fleece vests and jackets in the line-up.

• We start our headquarters in Chicago before settling in Santa Barbara in 2002. While in Chicago, we partner with Search, Inc. to co-found Planet Access Company, supporting adults with developmental disabilities.

• This is followed by sister-program Search For Adventure, which - 20 years later - has provided 200+ trips to 43 destinations for people with developmental disabilities.

• We open our Freeport, Maine store in 2001 and also begin taking big steps for the environment, including beginning our 25-year partnership with Egedeniz, a socially and environmentally progressive factory in Turkey.

• We stop using acrylic, rayon, and viscose. We are early adopters of eco-friendly TENCEL Lyocell.time you get dressed.

Our Second Decade: Growing with Purpose

Outside Magazine first names us one of their Best Places to Work in 20XX… and we’ve proudly been on that list consecutively 15 times since! This could have something to do with our annual battle of epically cheesy proportions that began around this time – we’ve hosted the Grilled Cheese Smackdown for 13 years and counting.
 Perhaps our proudest accomplishment in these years is joining 1% For The Planet in 2013 and dedicating 1% of our annual revenue to vetted environmental partners.

The Latest 10: Insight & Impact

In 2015, we evolved our name to Toad&Co to reflect our commitment to social and environmental progress through meaningful partnerships, from our manufacturers to our retailers. And tbh the digital era made it clear the old name came with some… distractions ;)

By 2016, all our cotton is certified organic or recycled and we begin working with bluesign and OEKO-Tex. We later add organic cotton in conversion to this line-up and ensure that any synthetics used are 100% recycled.

We ditch plastic mailers and within a few years are shipping everything in 100% recyclable packaging.

More exciting growth follows: we open a brick-and-mortar in Portland, Maine which becomes a community hub and hosts our first Visibility Arts Show.

In 2023, we push to keep things circular by giving Toads a place to resell and buy pre-loved Toad&Co items.

The Portland, ME store becomes our ToadAgain headquarters, and we begin in-store clothing repairs.

By 2024, we’ve started our journey to B Corp certification, submitting the B Impact Assessment.

The Next Decade:  Forward with Care

We have big goals for our ability to make a positive impact for people and the planet over the next ten years. We hope to have our 3rd wool certification (Responsible Wool Standard) by the end of 2025, finish our B Corp certification by 2027, and take 1,500+ adults with developmental disabilities on adventure trips by 2030. And that’s just the start!

Our next chapter will be written by the same values that have carried us this far: environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and the belief that adventure is for everyone. From a garage in Colorado to a global community of conscious adventurers, our story continues to unfold—one stitch, one partnership, one adventure at a time.Ready to take part in what’s next? Explore our sustainability goals and discover how we're working together to create positive change for people and planet.