The Surfer’s Peril: An Examination of the Unsustainable Practices of the Surf Industry
When an industry is 100% dependent on resource, they should do everything in their it power to preserve that resource. The surf industry does not. It is rather obvious that without the ocean there would be no surf, and while it is not necessarily going anywhere, the condition that it is in is just as important as the rest of the environment. There are anywhere from five to twenty million consistent surfers in the world who's needs are met every day. Approximately 400,000 surfboards made from toxic foam cores and fiberglass/resin mixtures are manufactured yearly (Envirosurfer), the revenue in this category alone reached $1.56 billion in 2013 (StatisticBrain). In total, the surf industry has an average annual revenue of $7.92 billion (StatisticBrain). Given its coastal limitations, it is a colossus flying under the radar. The majority of its products are not eco-friendly and do have a negative effect on the environment. With sales like these and growing, it is only a matter of time before the effects unveil themselves as major issues in our world of environmental challenges.
The typical surfboards with a foam core and fiberglass/resin glass job are not meant to last. If it is used consistently the owner might get two to five years out of it before they are ready to scrap it and throw money down for a new board. Even new surfboards are not tough either, they can snap like a twig in heavy surf, acquire holes or punctures (commonly referred to as dings in the surf world), and become weakened and discolored by being left in direct sunlight. These conditions call for a significant level of supply and demand. When the average board is being shaped from a foam blank, 20% of the foam is wasted and ends up in landfills (EnviroSurfer). According to Envirosurfer, "Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) and dangerous isocyanates are found in polyurethane blanks (foam blanks)." VOC's contribute to ground level ozone emissions which are precursors to smog and air pollution and the isocyanates have a laundry list of serious health hazards including its ability to cause cancer in animals. Envirosurfer also claims that since "a shortboard weighs about 5.5 pounds (5'8"-6'6" long). This causes over 600 pounds of CO2 to be emitted during the life-cycle of manufacturing, repairs, and disposal." That is one out of an annual production of 400,000; additionally, surfboards can reach up to 11 feet (longboards) and outweigh a shortboard multiple times.
Surfing would be a slippery sport without wax, to say the least. However, the majority of surf wax is made from oil by-products that impact a variety of marine organisms. Sex Wax is a major player in the surf wax business and has this to say in regards to whether or not their product is "green" or "eco-friendly":
It is impossible and pointless to determine if any product can be characterized according to vague advertising terms that don't have any specific meaning. None of these pseudo-environmental terms actually mean anything and advertisers can use them however they like. If you want to say that paraffin wax or soy wax are earth friendly, eco-safe, green, natural, or that they are not, go right ahead, no one can dispute what you are saying.
It is disheartening to think that Sex Wax can be so adamant on spending their time convincing people that these terms are solely used as propaganda, in fact they could be using that time to refine their formula to actually be eco-friendly and not dismiss any claim against them as a direct assault on their business. Despite the fact that wax is water resistant, it is not waterproof. Pieces will fall off during any surfer's session out in the water.
While some people are blessed to be able to live in tropical/equatorial zones with warm water, others are not and need to wear a wetsuit in order to keep warm. PVC, the most harmful plastic to our health and environment, is used in the production of wetsuits. Michael Bloch of GreenLivingTips.com says, "PVC's durability is also its downfall environmentally speaking – it's not biodegradable or degradable. Items made from PVC will retain their form for decades and the breakdown that occurs is just granulation - the pieces simply become smaller. Animals can ingest these pieces and the plastic can block their digestive tracts" says Bloch. Dioxin, one of the most deadly of man-made poisons and a cumulative toxin, is created from the manufacturing and incineration of PVC (Bloch). Additionally, 250 tons of neoprene, the primary material used in wetsuit manufacturing, is scrapped each year. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber whose environmental impacts are not dire, yet 250 tons of scraps is a lot of wasted material. No part of the traditional neoprene wetsuits are biodegradable, even the glue and solvents used to seal the stitched seams pollute the atmosphere. With wetsuit sales grossing $119.4 million (StatisticBrain), this is a growing problem.
Lastly, sunscreen harms the environment just as much the rest of these provisions. The only difference is that it is not solely used by surfers, almost everyone who doesn't want to get sunburned at the beach uses sunscreen. It is unknown to most that sunscreen is responsible for bleaching and threatening at least 10% of coral reefs worldwide (EnviroSurfer). Additionally, it has been discovered that the chemicals contained in a majority of sunscreens have the unfortunate capacity to awaken dormant viruses in the coral which will eventually kill it and make the virus spread (EnviroSurfer). To wrap it up, a chemical ingredient called oxybenzone has been linked to cell damage, allergies, and hormone disruption in humans (EnviroSurfer). It seems as if all that sunscreen does is take you out of the frying pan and drop you into the fire.
More often than not a surfer will be more aware of his or her impact on the environment than the average person will be. However, it is rather ironic that the surf culture is inextricably associated with an environmentally conscious lifestyle, yet the majority of surfers are not innocent by-standers watching helplessly as other industries pollute the environment - they are culprits as well. Despite the fact that these are only a handful of the environmental problems that the surf industry causes; there are fortunately many sustainable solutions to be considered for each of these issues.
Work Cited
Bloch, Michael. "Green Living Tips." Green Living Tips RSS. N.p., Dec. 2007. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
EnviroSurfer. "The Toxicity Of Surfing Infographic By Envirosurfer." Envirosurfer. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Hubert, Heather. "Volatile Organic Compounds Affect Air Quality and Human Health." Examiner.com. N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Mercer, Charly. "The Environmental Impacts of Polyurethane Foam." EHow. Demand Media, 09 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Sex Wax, . N.p.. Web. 21 Mar 2014. <http://www.sexwax.com/surf-wax-environmental/>.
"Surfing Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
