Sustainable Surf Certifies Eco-Friendly Surfboards

San Francisco-based social entrepreneurs, Sustainable Surf, want to raise consumer and industry awareness of the toxicity of surfboards and use the market to change it. Through their ECOBOARD Verification Program they aim “to help consumers choose a high performance sustainable surfboard, that uses the latest advancements in green chemistry and production processes to reduce the board’s environmental impact.”

ECOBOARDS must have a significant and meaningful reduction in environmental impact as measured by factors such as lifecycle CO2 emissions, toxic emissions, water use, land use, and impacts to charismatic macro-fauna (e.g. polar bears, baby seals) and essential micro-fauna (e.g. plankton). To make the judgment on what constitutes “significant and meaningful”, Sustainable Surf analyzes data and reports on the impacts of surfboards, as well as existing and pending government regulations, and the latest environmental science.– sustainablesurf.org

The surf industry has been surprisingly slow to grapple with its carbon footprint. Sure, surfers and groups such as the Surfrider Foundation fight ocean pollution, and companies like Patagonia have long been leaders in sustainability. But the surf industry is like no other. Quiksilver, Reef and other big apparel brands may dominate the bottom line, but it’s a group of iconoclastic surfboard craftsmen with names like Mayhem and Stretch and the elite pro surfers who ride their boards who create the image that sells surf couture.– forbes.com