Toymakers & Wavemakers
We recently announced that we would be working with the team from Toy Factory Surfboards. This is not only going to support a UK surfboard shaping company, but we were impressed with their vision to try and improve the environmental credentials of their surfboard manufacture.
They have begun working on The Rebellion Project. It is the brainchild of UK shaper and owner of Fourth surfboards Luke Hart. Luke is one of the best brands in the UK from the ground up. Using craftsmanship and a passion for creating surfboards that not only look good but, enable the end user to enjoy surfing to the maximum from beginner to elite level. Working with the top surfers and shapers in the UK on what makes a board perfect to learn and improve on Luke, along with UK surfing legend Lee Bartlett has designed a beginner shortboard and ultimate minimal that takes elements from many of his pro boards, to create a board that can take you from beginner up wards.
These boards will help you to improve your surfing, which is what every surfer endeavours to do when buying a new board. But this isn’t the only benefit to staying clear of the production line boards.
Most surfboards are made with some of the harshest chemicals around. They are produced in huge factories; they are then flown or shipped in massive containers across the globe, loaded into trucks and sent over the country. The carbon footprint is massive; these boards are in essence destroying and adding to destruction and pollution of the ocean.
The Rebellion Project, aims to cut down the carbon footprint to as close to zero as possible. They have sourced as many products from Cornwall as possible. The blank comes from Home Blown in Cornwall and are environmentally friendly as they are water blown foam blanks unlike chemically blown far eastern blanks, the fibre glass is un coated, the paint is water based, The finish is sanded rather than chemical lacquer finish, and all fins are 100% recycled.
Surfers are often seen as being synonymous with nature, water.......being at one with nature.
We are the eyes and ears at the interface between humanity and nature. We live and breathe the elements.
We also sit in the surf on boards made up of this:
The life cycle of a surfboard:
1) Extraction of raw materials
The oil used to make the resin and fins needs to be drilled out of the earth and wood for the stringer has to be grown and harvested
2) Processing
Turning the oil into plastic requires energy and other resources. The wood needs to be debarked and cut into strips for the stringer or rails which requires energy
3) Manufacture
Once the constituent chemicals have been made the foams can be manufactured with requires even more energy and consumables
4) Transportation
Between each stage the raw materials, processed chemicals or manufactured products have to be transported creating carbon
5) Shaping
Once each constituent part has reached the shaper more energy and consumables are used to make the finished surfboard
6) Repair
During its life a surfboard becomes damaged and needs repairing and fin plugs replacing, or new fins purchased which creates a further carbon impact
7) Disposal
A broken board means another one needs to be made. Most surfers keep a surfboard for as long as possible but eventually the surfboard can no longer be used so has to be recycle for another purpose, e.g. wall art in a bar or goes to landfill
The annual production of new surfboards, roughly 750,000, creates around 220,000Tons of CO2e!
The trend for surfers to go green has become evident in boardies & wetties. Surfers are beginning to demand environmentally friendly products.
Because of this, many companies claim their products are green, but they never advertise an exact carbon footprint value. This makes it difficult for consumers to compare their options.
For example an epoxy surfboard has a larger carbon footprint than a polyester based resin surfboard of the same shape. Many surfers believe an epoxy surfboard will last longer, so it is more environmentally friendly in the long run, but there are a lot of variables to account for.
Reducing the carbon impact of your surfboard is actually pretty easy, but it takes both shapers and surfers to make a positive environmental change. If we all work together, we can reduce the carbon impact of surfing and set an example for other sports. This is why we are working with Toy Factory Surfboards, they have a similar desire to make waves of positive change with us.
