Surfboards, as you know, are disgusting things. PU, EPS, PE, whatever your surfboard is made of (unless, of course, you’re riding an alaia you shaped with your teeth from a fallen tree), it’s not good for the environment. We’re a funny bunch, aren’t we? Claiming to love the earth while chasing waves in fuel-guzzling vehicles and riding those waves on crafts made from materials that never, ever break down.
“Mother Gaia, the primal Mother Earth goddess, needs our help!” we scream from inside our soul-arch. “Love your surfboard, love your environment!” we shout while chaining ourselves to the Great Barrier Reef in our sustainably sourced, ethically crafted hemp shorts made by well paid hemp-spinning spiders in the Brazilian rainforest. We are hypocrites!
The best option, as many have shouted from their tar-covered and rubberized-shingle rooftops, is to not make anything at all. Do not explore coastlines in our gas-guzzlers. Do not fly anywhere. Do not use plastic. Do not buy surfboards. Do not eat meat from a store. Do not eat meat at all. Eat only grass, tree bark, and compost. And do not, for love of God, start a business that produces anything at all! And while that is the best option, it is no option at all.
Since most of us happen to live in a world where avoiding most of those things is nearly impossible (but wouldn’t it be nice to have a few more options, just in case we did want an electric vehicle that didn’t cost as much as a pair of black market kidneys?), we’ve got to make do with compromises. Use less plastic. Buy used surfboards. Grow your own vegetables, shoot your own meat (insert vegan rage here), and start a business that is, at least, walking a fine line between the voracious greed of living in a capitalist society and wanting society to exist for the foreseeable future.
And so, after all that (are you still here?), we come to Kelly Slater’s Instagram post. “Regarding sustainability methods at @firewiresurfboards, @slaterdesigns, @tomo_surfboards, @dan__mann and @rob_machado_surfboards, here’s a video describing how we deal with EPS foam waste onsite in our factory,” he writes. “Pretty cool! These pavers are used at Surf Ranch and our Firewire offices. Not sure whether you can buy them at your local home goods store yet! ✌???? @sustainsurf nice job on the pavers idea!”
Do you know what this is? It is the fine line between the voracious greed of living in a capitalist society and wanting society to exist for the foreseeable future!
