Lately Rohan Marley has been making headlines for his romantic liaisons, however it is his new line of headphones that needs to be heard.  The name “Marley” brings to mind music and universal love. For this reason, it only seems natural that Bob’s children would create a line of quality audio products with the Earth’s best interest in mind. To keep their father’s legacy alive, the Marley family has created “House of Marley.” 

The line is debuting with a line of eco-conscious audio gear which is comprised of three collections: Jammin’, Freedom, and Destiny. The collections are divided into three tiers according to price. Featured products range from $29.99 to $499.99 and include earbuds, headphones, docking stations, speakers, and boom boxes.

In addition to being eco-friendly, House of Marley’s products are affiliated with the charity 1Love. 1Love.org contributes to charity water and other causes, and part of the proceeds from all Marley entities go to the organization. Their goal is to perpetuate the message that less is more, and that anything one person does has to benefit his neighbor; in essence, 1Love.org is the Marley family’s storyboard. HOMBRE had the pleasure of speaking with Don Inmon, the General Manager of House of Marley, and Rohan Marley about their innovative new product line.

HOMBRE: I know you were inspired to start the brand by your father. How did you begin to build the House of Marley?

Rohan Marley: Several years ago, my family decided we wanted to create a movement to get deeper into things that relate to our family. We thought, how can we, by doing this, protect the environment… what would Bob do and how would he go about doing this? We’re the type of children who want to impress our dad; everything we do, we want to make sure our father would be smiling. I’m here to make sure we carry on the legacy from generation to generation, so I said we have to be eco-friendly. We have to use sustainable materials, recycled materials and watch our carbon footprint as far as what we manufacture, where we manufacture, and who manufactures for us.

Don Inmon: There are a lot of products currently in the market…that just have a certain artist tied to them, and that wasn’t the idea with House of Marley. We took the ideals the sustainability that Bob Marley believed in, his message of being charitable, being kind, giving more than you get and carried that into a lifestyle brand creating a brand called Marley. The entire Marley family provides input on fit, finish, look, feel, function, and overall vibe that the product will have. The first line is the consumer electronics line that consists of in ear, on ear, and over ear headphones. Everything is made out of sustainable materials. The brand is going to grow as we go into the next year; we’re going to carry that same sustainability message into timepieces, eyewear and luggage.

H: Tell us about the three collections.

DI: The idea with any of these products is that they are attainable for everyone, but we wanted to make sure we were best in class in every category that we participate in, so we have three categories: Jammin, which is our entry level; Freedom, which is mid-tier, and Destiny, which is high end. The three tier approach allows us to be in different types of retailers and will carry over to our other products.

H: Where are the products made?

DI: In China. Initially, it proved to be a big challenge since the factories don’t really know how to produce products that are sustainable. In fact, not one factory that we met with that made headphones had any experience doing sustainable materials, so we had to go in and work with the factories to become FFC certified, work with our sourcing team to help them source materials that are eco-friendly…this process is moving into it’s third year.

RM: The actual factory came over to see us at a trade show to make sure we were real. It’s the first time they’ve gone to this extreme to source materials. No one in electronics really focuses on doing things in this fashion, with sustainable materials. It was a challenge but we have to do it this way…we want to get it done right, we’re not into compromising. It took us a while!

H: Are you the first to do something like this?

DI: There are some companies that have dabbled, but even though they say they have an eco friendly product, you don’t necessarily think about that first. We’ve designed it so that there is an initial attraction to the product.

RM: We want the finest in life, so everything has a great amount of detail. It’s very important that the acoustics are good and the look and feel are also right; the wood and the aluminum just make the sound so much denser. 

DI: Certainly other people have done it, but we’re doing it in a very Marley kind of way.

H: What’s in store for the future of House of Marley?

RM: the vision we have for House of Marley going forward is to continue to be eco-friendly, continuing our work with charities, and just upholding the message of the music and who we, the family are…we’re proud of what we’re doing and we want to promote it, so it’s important that it represents us.

DI: We just want to make sure we’re being authentic at every step, not skimping in any way, from the materials to the quality of the product to the emotional attachment of the consumer. As we expand this line you’re going to see that the brand is really broad, it’s not something that’s going to be around for a couple years; we think it’s forever.

RM: Longevity is key for us. You know, the Rastaman didn’t like to wear shoes because of what they’re made of; they’re the ones who started this movement. So it’s really not a trend for us; this is the way it has to be done.

For more information visit www.thehouseofmarley.com