Becoming a B Corporation simply made sense for the team at Stafford-Township based Jetty Life.

The company is a coastal-lifestyle apparel brand that makes, markets and sells clothing designed for people who appreciate the outdoors and adventure, explained Jeremy DeFilippis, the company’s CEO who is also an operating partner and co-founder.

According to B Lab, “certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.”

Since 2007, B Lab has certified some 3,900 B Corps in 70 countries and 150 industries.

DeFilippis said the designation matches the company’s focus on operating a sustainable facility by reducing water usage, using eco-friendly inks, developing a proprietary fabric that incorporates crushed oyster shells and more.

“The next generation of people that buy our goods are concerned (with the environment) and we already had it in our DNA,” he said.

The company was started in 2003 by what DeFilippis said was “a handful of guys, friends, trying to figure out what to do with their lives. We just thought this was a niche that needed to be filled.”

“We grew up surfing and fishing. We grew up around the water and that’s the DNA behind the brand,” DeFilippis added.

Today, the company has 33 employees and screen prints its garments in its 15,000 square foot headquarters in Manahawkin.

About half of the line is produced locally, while the other half is outsourced.

Jetty Life clothing can be found in shops across the Garden State as well as other spots from Maine to Florida along with Texas, California and the Great Lakes.

The firm also exports to Canada and works with the NJBAC’s Office of Export Promotion as it looks to take part in trade shows and other events.

DeFilippis said the company first learned of the New Jersey Business Action Center through the NJ Chamber of Commerce and has also worked with the Office of Business Advocacy.

His advice for entrepreneurs? “Plan, plan, plan,” DeFilippis said. “We really didn’t plan. We jumped in head first and didn’t do our homework. It can be overwhelming.”