About Us

Route 99 was born on the North Shore of O’ahu where Kamehameha Highway becomes Route 99. The brand, Route 99, started with only two designs at a booth at the Hale’iwa Farmers Market. Since then, we’ve evolved organically — in part by listening to our loyal and local customers & vendors who continue to ask us for new designs. We’ve been around the island, so to speak, having sold our hats at the North Shore Farmers Markets, Island Craft Fairs, & the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. A list of the retail stores that carry our hats is on the Retail Locations page.

Our business philosophy grew out of our personal history: Right out of college, Charlie interned in New York City at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which called on companies to be responsible in their treatment of workers, respectful towards the environment and transparent with their customers. Meanwhile in Brazil, Washington ran a school for Body Boarders & was the lead organizer of International Body Boarding competitions, empowering youth from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Later, as a teacher in Hawai’i, Charlie’s Contemporary Issues class raised more than $4,500, which was matched by an anonymous donor, for the Darfur Project. It was the largest contribution of any school nationwide, targeted at mitigating Darfur’s on-going refugee problem. The project was even featured in The Star Advertiser.

Our brand mission is to Share Aloha Worldwide, one cap at a time. Read more about our #99ActsofAloha Campaign.

Route 99 embroiders each of its Hawaii-inspired designs one-by-one on the North Shore of O’ahu. Individual caps are placed on our embroidery machines, thread colors are selected that complement the various cap styles, and our team ensures that each product is carefully trimmed and made ready for the highest of customer satisfaction. We carry hundreds of different cap styles, designs & colorways — from the ever-popular Floral Snapback, to hand-painted & hand-stitched hats, to traditional yet fun baseball caps. Our designs are inspired by the land & ocean around us.

Learn more about our Sister Company, North Shore Embroidery that provides custom embroidery.