ANIÁN started with a simple idea— owner Paul Long wanted to create products so good that people would tell everyone they knew about them, and he wanted to make those products in a way that respected the Earth. He also figured that if he sold enough T-shirts he could go surfing whenever he wanted, and he wouldn’t have to get a job. On a stormy winter surf trip, he unexpectedly discovered that the army surplus Melton pea coat he’d brought along was keeping him warm and dry while his friends in synthetic jackets shivered in the rain. Once he got home, he started researching Melton wool, the heavy-duty, densely woven material that had been used in pea coats like his for hundreds of years. After a few prototypes, he perfected the design that became their Modern Melton Wool.