Local entrepreneur creates products that give back

BOSTON — Creating products that give back. That was the goal of a local entrepreneur who decided to leave his finance job and focus on the things he enjoyed and cared about.

Like a lot of Babson graduates, Patrick Clarke got a business degree. He moved to Boston and jumped right into the finance world. He liked his job, but his innate love for Cape Cod was unmatched.

“Growing up, Cape Cod is where I met all my best friends, have all my best memories, we were always on the beach doing something, it was always home for me,” said Patrick Clarke, founder of Cape Clasp. (https://www.capeclasp.com/)

And his side business was the only thing keeping him connected. So in order to get himself and others to break from the routine and get outdoors and explore, he started leaving the geocaches.

“From that I thought it would be really cool to have a keepsake in these geocaches so that’s where the original bracelet, the Cape Clasp came from,” said Clarke.

His bracelets started gaining traction on social media and Pat’s focus on his full time job faded.

“There’s a saying that inside every great entrepreneur, there’s a bad employee,” said Clarke.

After Pat released the shark, it quickly became his best seller and he realized he had a business model. From there, he expanded the line of clasps and then also started selling bracelets made of recycled ocean plastic—-based off of customer feedback.

“The people who take the time to write those messages are going to be your top customers typically,” said Clarke.

Those customers encouraged Pat to use 100% recycled materials, from the packaging to the product.

“We patented this hinge which makes it so there’s no extra hardware or anything, just plastic on plastic,” said Clarke, as he showed off his sunglasses.

From the recycled-ocean plastic sunglasses and bracelets to the Cape Clasps—all of the products sold are connected to a non-profit—where a portion of the proceeds are donated to a particular cause.

“It works as a daily reminder to protect the ocean and it’s a great conversation piece to explain to friends and family hey these are the things i care about,” said Clarke.

So far, Cape Clasp has given back nearly $200,000 to non-profits like the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Since day one, Pat’s goal has been to give back and make in impact. Or in his business—make waves.

“We want to give more money to our non-profit partners, we want to have a sustainable supply chain, and I want to create really cool jobs for people they can be independent, work on what they care about and help us grow the business,” said Clarke.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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