Festival conclusions by
Surfer´s Path Editor, Alex Dick-Read
I don't claim to know everything
that's new in the 'green surfing' realm, but as editor of The Surfer's Path
I come across quite a bit of good stuff. So I wanted to at least
outline what I would have talked about if we'd had more time in the
discussion, so that hopefully people who were there can get an idea.
Boards:
The
biggest thing happening right now is the search for materials that will
take the toxic paradox out of surfing's 'natural' image. Now that Clark
Foam doesn't exist, shapers all over the place have been seeking new
alternatives for board blanks. This has led some to develop more
environmentally sensible materials.
1) BioFoam and Bioresin – to quote from an
upcoming story by Mark Gray in Issue 62 of TSP:
"The story probably really starts
with HomeBlown (www.homeblown.co.uk)
and Chris Hines’ Eden Project in the UK, where Tris Cokes and
chemist
Johnathan Hepple began work on the concept. Meanwhile, in Ventura,
California, Chuck Menzel, owner of the website wetSand.com and a man
with an abiding interest in a greener world, brought an improved foam
formula to the Homeblown USA contingent. There, Ned McMahon, the
licensee and a former Town & Country shaper, was shaping the
blanks
into surfboards and providing feedback to the UK. Once
Chuck’s input
was pooled with Ned’s, Biofoam (now a registered trademark)
was born. A
few months later, a bio-resin for lamination, using almost the same
formula was worked out. Biofoam is about 50 percent agricultural
material, using plant oils to substitute for half of the petroleum
component. Bioresin is about 98 percent petrol-free, and it sun-cures
in about 15 minutes (enough to be sanded)."
Shapers
in the UK, USA and Hawaii are now working with the foam, and they
include some of the biggest names in the industry. I spoke with UK
shaper Al Murray last week and he told me that they'd had some very bad
results at the beginning of the year – some of the blanks had
"fallen
apart" – but they'd just finished a batch of boards last week
which
were "perfect" to work with. The new resin has been "amazing" to work
with and there have been no problems with that at all.
There
are now hundreds of boards on order in the UK, USA and Hawaii, and it
seems the formula for BioFoam is now stable enough to be used
commercially.
The
resin is pretty much the only commercially available vegetable-based
resin in any industry, not just the surf sector. So, here we see
surfing advancing towards a sensible, much less toxic solution for our
boards, but also showing the way to other industries.
For more info contact:
Homeblown (in the UK): info@homeblown.co.uk in
the USA: info@homeblownus.com
2) Ice-Nine Foamworks
– blanks made of sugar. Another company that has developed a
completely
new type of foam since Clark shut down. Originally based in Mexico it
has now moved to Orange County and is manufacturing their PUR-Foam. "PUR-Foam is an environmentally safer surfboard foam
that also maintains a bright white appearance. PUR-Foam
represents the industry's most environmentally advanced polyurethane foam.
By combining pure clear materials Ice-Nine is able to produce 'green' blanks that are
now brilliantly white too. No bleaches, pigments, additives, or
enhancers are used."
For more info
contact: info@ice9foamworks.com
3) Wood,
Bamboo and Balsa Boards
– Everywhere you look, it seems, people are making boards
made from
trees. Chambered, hollow, solid, glassed with hemp or bamboo etc. etc.
Look on the internet (www.swaylocks.com
is good) and you'll find hundreds of them all around the world. The new
issue of TSP 61 has a story about Richard Matthews
who makes bamboo boards in the Philippines, and in the following issue (TSP
62)
Mark Gray writes about Daniel Hess, just one of many people crafting
boards from wood and selling them faster than they can make them. Gray
writes: "At
first glance it
looks like he’s producing musical instruments –
perhaps cellos or
violins." They're being ridden by everyone from the rich weekend surfer
to people like Dan Malloy, who says his Hess board rides beautifully,
he can get radical on it and he hopes to hand the same board on to his
kids later in life. This may seem like a step back in time, but the
more fierce the competition becomes, the more techniques will improve.
Soon we may be seeing wood surfboards as normal, not retro or
collectible. The first Hawaiian surfers were smarter than us!
For more info contact: danny@hesssurfboards.com.
4) Build Your Own Board kits:
There are more and more companies now offering the materials you need
to build your own environmentally clean surfboard. These may include
EPS or some form of vegetable foam, hemp cloth, and vegetable-based
resin. Examples include Homeblown, Sannyasi (www.sannyasi.co.uk/)
and Green Light (www.greenlightsurfsupply.com),
but check board-building sites like www.swaylocks.com
and www.shapers.com.
Summary: These
examples aren't the only things going on. Seek and ye will find. The
important point is that there's now very hot competition
to find materials that offer all surfers – beginners to pros
– a real
good alternative to the petro-based and chemically poisonous boards we
have ridden for the last 75 years.
Accessories:
OK,
so organic big wave leashes aren't on offer yet, but there is some
thought going into wax, which up to now has been oil-based and pollutes
more than you'd think.
Check:
Clothing etc:
Most of the big companies now have at least one organic
clothing line and some companies specialize in only organic gear.
My favourite example of what a
company can do if it has the desire is Simple shoes (www.simpleshoes.com).
They aren't strictly a surf company but surfing is definitely in their
market and they sponsor a rider or two. Two years ago they made their
whole company as eco-friendly as they could (they have since been
bought but the new owners have let them carry on). This meant they had
to re-design all their products of course, but also their whole factory
and its machinery, their offices and the materials they use, their
advertising and marketing - everything! They don't claim to be perfect,
but they have hugely reduced their impact on the environment
and their
gear is better. These days their shoes are made with non-toxic glues,
jute and bamboo cloth, natural latex rubber and other clean materials.
They have carried on mass-producing great shoes, and shown that with
some thought, effort and commitment big companies CAN produce good gear
without losing out in the market, or damaging the environment as much
as they were before.
By the way, I'm not paid by Simple
(or any of these companies) – I just was blown away by their
commitment.
Then
of course there is Patagonia (whose shoes are made in the Simple
factory), and new companies copying their commitment to low impact
products, like Finisterre (www.www.finisterreuk.com),
Howies (www.howies.co.uk)
and others.
Wetsuits:
Body Glove and Patagonia have been working on
natural/recycled/limestone suits. These are still new and while they
work well already (I have a Patagonia suit made from natural rubber and
recycled neoprene), the technology to make a cleaner wetsuit is likely
to come in the next few years, especially if we the customers and shop
owners demand it.
Shops: Check Wetsand (www.wetsand.com),
Loose-fit (www.loose-fit.co.uk),
70%Organic (www.70percent.org),
Mystosurfing (www.mystosurfing.co.uk)
– many shops now successfully specialize in selling all or
mostly
eco-friendly products and aim to be overall low impact companies. While
many shops claim they can't afford to do this, most could if they took
the risk. Here's what Loose-fit, an online and real-life surfshop in
the UK says it does:
" 1)
plant a tree for every surfboard we sell
2) plant trees to account for other company activities such as flying over guest surfers and artists from abroad.
3) signed up to a green electricity tariff to ensure our electricity comes from renewable sources like wave, tidal and wind energy
4) are energy efficient, by managing our use and introducing new technologies "
2) plant trees to account for other company activities such as flying over guest surfers and artists from abroad.
3) signed up to a green electricity tariff to ensure our electricity comes from renewable sources like wave, tidal and wind energy
4) are energy efficient, by managing our use and introducing new technologies "
Not very complicated or expensive, and gardening's good for the soul!
Carbon Offsetting: There's talk of the ASP
offsetting the world tour, Kelly paying out to offset his own travel
footprint, and Surfing magazine
is offsetting its whole operation. From my own research I'd say beware
of carbon offset schemes that involve growing trees in far off
countries - many of them do absolutely nothing for any except the
people selling the scheme. But schemes that offer investment into
renewable energy and energy efficiency are pretty good.
The one that the industry seems to
be using is www.Carbonfund.org,
but there are others, or you can do own thing, as Loose-fit have (see
above).
In Conclusion: There's
more, but I'll spare you. While only two years ago we at TSP
were laughed at or ignored for trying to promote a more sustainable
surf industry, these days there's so much going on that we can't keep
up with it.
.
Aloha to everyone!
Alex Dick-Read
Editor
Myspace.com/surferspathmag
www.surferspath.com
Editor
Myspace.com/surferspathmag
www.surferspath.com
Want
to nominate someone for
The Surfer’s Path 2nd Annual Green Wave Awards?
They’re for “excellence and achievement in promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness in the surfing world.”
Email your nominations to this address, or,
for more info go to www.surferspath.com
The Surfer’s Path 2nd Annual Green Wave Awards?
They’re for “excellence and achievement in promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness in the surfing world.”
Email your nominations to this address, or,
for more info go to www.surferspath.com
