Sustainable Surfboards
By Sean Sullivan
We are nothing without nature and our craft.
Abstract
This study is an assessment of the current situation surrounding the creation, production and
marketing of an environmentally friendly alternative to the modern polyurethane foam, fibreglass,
and resin surfboard. The surfboard has evolved from the 100% recyclable, sustainable wooden
board used by the Hawaiians into a toxic composite of polluting materials used by surfers around
the globe. This study attempts to define the environmental impacts of the construction and usage
of the common polyurethane foam, fibreglass and resin surfboard as the justification of the need
for a sustainable alternative.
Taj flying at J-Bay on his firewire.
In order to assess the current situation regarding the creation, production and marketing of an
environmentally friendly surfboard, surfers were surveyed and interviews were conducted with
surfboard shapers and others involved in the surf industry. Those surveyed and interviewed were
questioned on awareness of environmental issues, assessment of the market for an
environmentally friendly alternative to the modern surfboard, and barriers and incentives to the
creation, production and marketing of a sustainable surfboard.
Crude but clean - a blast from the past – one of the original recyclable wooden boards used by the Hawaiians
The conclusions of the research indicate that there is only a generalized idea of the environmental
effects of surfboard construction and although some surfers expressed an interest in a sustainable
surfboard, this interest is not being articulated to the surf industry. As a result, despite some
pockets of pro-active individuals and companies involved in the production of more eco-friendly
alternative surfboards and materials, the surf industry as a whole is not currently involved in
creating or producing a sustainable surfboard. Instead, the surfing community seems contented to
accept the status quo. This report recommends a campaign that would promote awareness of the
associated environmental impacts of surfboard construction as the necessary first step towards
sustainability. What is needed to create an environmentally friendly alternative to the common
surfboard is a collaborative effort involving surfers, shapers, foundation organizers and the surf
industry as a whole to work together to address this issue.
As a tribe surely we should aspire to create some sustainable craft for our groms
Introduction
1.1 Statement of Problem
Surfing has the image of a very pure sport; it is an interaction with simple forces of nature on a
sustainable level, leaving no trace on the natural environment. However, although a surfer may
leave no trace on the face of a crashing wave, the environmental impacts of surfboard
construction are leaving a lasting impression on the natural environment. The largely unspoken
truth is that the construction of the modern surfboard involves the use of harmful petrochemicals
and processes that result in dangerous by-products harmful to both the surfboard builder and the
environment. An examination of the history and evolution of the surfboard will show that what
was once an entirely sustainable surfboard has become a polluting composite.
1.2 Surfing Roots in Indigenous Hawaiian Culture
The history of surfing begins in the South Pacific. The first recorded description of surfboard
riding is taken from the journal of Captain Cook in which he describes the native Hawaiians
surfing in a late 1770’s entry,
“Twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out
together from the shore. The first wave they meet they plunge under… (and) rise again beyond
it…” “As soon as they have gained, by these repeated efforts, the smooth water beyond the surf
they lay themselves at length on their boards and prepare for their return… their first object is to
place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with
amazing rapidity toward the shore.” (Cook, in Young 1994, p. 31)
The Hawaiians and Tahitians were recorded surfing by Westerners as early as the late 18th
century, but a brief examination of the ritual nature of surfing and surfboard making within
Hawaiian culture proves that surfing had been part of Hawaiian culture for a long time before
Captain Cook’s journal entry.
1.3 Surfboard Construction by Indigenous Hawaiians
Initially, the surfboard was made from all natural materials. Surfboards were made from three
types of wood: ula (breadfruit), koa (Hawaiian mahogany), and wili wili (Hawaiian balsa). According
to Nat Young’s “History of Surfing,” the Hawaiian ritual began by choosing a tree and placing a
red fish (Kumu) at the foot of its trunk. Then “the tree was cut down and the fish placed with a
prayer in the hole dug at the root. After this ceremony the surfer chipped away at the tree with a
stone adze until it was reduced to the size of the board he wanted: 14 to 16 feet long for the alii,
10 to 12 feet long for the commoners.” (Young 1994, p. 31) The board was then brought to the
beach and essentially sanded smooth using a combination of specific types of granulated coral
and rough stone. Finally, the board was given a glossy black finish by rubbing the root of the Ti
plant or pounded bark along its surfaces. (Young 1994, p. 31)
1.4 From Hawaii to Australia: The Evolution of the Modern Surfboard
In this sense, the original surfboards were totally organic, and despite extremely minimal tree
felling and fishing, virtually impact free. The original surfboards of Hawaii were 100% recyclable.
As surfboard shapes and designs have changed over the past 200+ years, the surfboard has gone
from the 100% recyclable heavy Hawaiian wooden boards to a lightweight foam/ fibreglass/ resin
composite that is unable to be recycled. Although boards are now much lighter and tuned to
allow surfers enhanced mobility on the face of the wave, they break more easily and are unable
to be recycled. This begs the question, how did we get so far from the Hawaiian model, and have
surfboards really been evolving, or is it a case of devolution? What led the surf industry to pursue
this environmentally destructive model? When did this path begin in Australia?
Clearly, the surfboard that introduced Australia to surfing was a finless wooden surfboard,
specifically a piece of sugar pine. However, surfboard construction would change many times
before the modern foam/ fibreglass/ resin surfboard became a mainstay. Note how many changes
relate to issues of weight, waterproofing, and durability. See the timeline below:
1.5 How a Modern Surfboard is Constructed
In simple terms, the modern surfboard is created as follows from three main ingredients: foam,
fibreglass and resin.
A shaper begins with a blank, or piece of foam that was formed to a basic oval shape by the
blank manufacturer. The blank contains a stringer, which is a piece of wood glued in between the
two longitudinal halves of the blank, down the centre.
The shaper takes this blank and shapes it to the required shape either by using a planer, or
placing the blank into a computer aided cutting machine. The shaping process involves shaping
the rails, or edges of the board, the contour of the bottom of the board, and the shape of the tail
and nose. Once shaped to the desired design, the board is covered in a layer of dry fibreglass
cloth on one side, which extends over the edges of the board.
The glasser, or person who is charge of fibreglassing the board, pours a layer of resin liquid,
which has been mixed with a catalyst (hardener) on top of the board and smooths it out using a
small, flat piece of plastic. He repeats this process until the fibreglass is appropriately saturated
and adhered to the board, while still wet. Once the resin cures, or hardens, the same glassing
process is repeated on the opposite side. Often times multiple layers of glass are applied to each
side, requiring curing and sanding between coats. After this is completed, the board is sanded
down to smooth out the resin and sometimes polished to give it a glossy finish. Additionally, the
builder has to add the fins, a process which involves slotting the fins into the blank itself and
fibreglassing the fins on permanently or boring out small holes into the blank which hold plugs
with slots for removable fins. A small hole is also drilled into the deck, for a piece of plastic with a
metal bar that serves as an attachment point for the leg rope.
1.6 Assessing the Problems of the Modern Surfboard
Since the late 1950’s the foam/ glass/ resin board has been the standard for surfers around the
world. An examination of the different materials needed to construct a modern surfboard and
how these materials are deleterious to both the health of the shaper who creates the board and
the environment at large is vital to understanding the need for an environmentally friendly
alternative to the modern foam/ glass/ resin surfboard.
Just how big is the scope of the problem? Unfortunately, this is unclear. There is no governing
body or oversight committee keeping figures on the global surf industry. Although the Surf
Industry Manufacturer’s Association does exist, it’s only study in 2004 was a Retail Distribution
Study which, for the purposes of this report, established little more than an estimate of annual
board sales in the United States (USD$140m). Without reliable figures on the number of
surfboards being produced per annum globally it is impossible to estimate the scale of the
environmental impacts of surfboard construction. So how can we be sure surfboards are actually
hurting the environment? By analysing the environmental and health effects of each surfboard
ingredient per se.
1.6.1 Impacts of Modern Surfboard Construction
According to the shapers I spoke with, Polyurethane foam (PU) core surfboards account for more
than 95% of the boards they create. (Young 2007, pers. comm., 17 April. Dahlberg 2007, pers.
comm., 27 April). A look at any surf magazine or out in the water seems to confirm this. The
creation of a polyurethane foam blank utilizes processes that are known to give off CO 2, a
greenhouse gas, and often employ Hydro-fluorocarbons, which are known to deplete the ozone,
as the blowing agent or catalyst.
Fibreglass, a fibre made from sand, is safe in the knit form commonly found in surf shops, but is
often treated with heavy metals (e.g. Volan is treated with Chromium) and therefore is itself toxic.
In surfboard construction, fibreglass is combined with resins to create the laminate, or skin of the
surfboard. Polyester resin is used in combination with PU. The polyester resin is combined with
styrene monomer, a toxic solvent that thins out the resin into a more workable and liquid form
that is able to sanded. Styrene, in addition to being a known carcinogen, is a corrosive substance
that is itself a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). Its fumes are released during its use and it is
also a reactive diluent, which means that it becomes part of the cured resin and will continue to
emit VOC’s as the resin breaks down. These VOC’s are irritants to nose, skin, eyes, throat, lungs,
and can cause central nervous system damage when inhaled in quantity. In the environment,
these VOC’s combine with Nitrogen Oxides in the air to create ground level ozone, which is the
main component of smog. The excess resin and dirt on a surfboard is cleaned off using acetone,
which also emits VOC’s. (Nova Scotia Environment and Labour Dept., 2007.) An inventory of any
surfboard shaping room would also probably include commonly used paints, thinners and
catalysts like Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide (MEKP), which effect the lungs and central nervous
system, in addition to emitting VOC’s. The emission of VOC’s does not stop with construction; as
the resins break down they continue to emit VOC’s into the atmosphere. This is particularly bad
with PU boards, but even Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam in combination with epoxy resins
releases VOC’s, albeit much less. According to Fletcher Chouinard, owner of Point Blanks
Surfboards, “epoxy resin has 75% fewer VOC's contained in the resin itself and two-thirds fewer
VOC's are released into the atmosphere than from polyester resin.” (Chouinard, undated) Note
here that although Polyurethane and EPS are recyclable, once they are placed into a composite
form (as all surfboards are) it is no longer able to be recycled.
It is also important to note that the resins and foam are both petrochemicals. I don’t think it is
necessary to get into the associated environmental issues concerning petroleum acquisition and
refinement, but it should be noted that the resins needed for surfboards are clear resins, and this
means that they require an extensive amount of refining, using large amounts of energy. More of
the associated environmental effects of surfboard construction are discussed in the Results
section.
1.7 Reasons for the Foam/ Glass/ Resin Surfboard Model
Compare all these chemicals that compose the modern surfboard to the wooden surfboards
rubbed with Ti root and surfed by South Pacific Islanders for many years before the
Westernisation of surfing and it is clear to see that surfboards have evolved from a sustainable
product into a polluting composite. What was wrong with the old boards?
Some would argue that there was nothing wrong with the wooden fin-less surfboards, and the
design only changed to accommodate the novices who wanted to learn to surf on something
more manageable than a heavy wooden plank. In fact, Tom Wegener of Tom Wegener Surfboards
is currently involved in creating boards very similar to the ancient Hawaiian boards. These fin-less
Paulownia wood surfboards are similar in shape and plan to the ancient Hawaiian boards, treated
only in linseed oil. To Wegener, who is a very accomplished professional long board surfer, the
boards represent a challenge and harken back to the times when a surfer needed to be all around
waterman – physically fit and a capable swimmer. However, those surfers that desired to cut, stall
and turn along the face of the wave demanded increasingly manoeuvrable equipment, and in
terms of construction, this mainly met one thing – lightweight. When the foam board replaced
the balsa boards, there was a decrease in weight. Since then, surfers have not wanted to look
back. Today, competitive pros surfing on the world circuit ride boards with minimal layers of
fibreglass on thin foam cores. This minimization of materials adds up to a fragile board when
compared to the thicker foam, heavily fibreglassed boards of twenty years ago. Because today’s
recreational surfers are keen to emulate these pros and ride the same equipment, the standard
short board ridden by the average surfer is extremely lightweight and easily broken. This means
the average surfboard is not durable, and has become what equates to a disposable good.
There are clearly many environmental and health issues regarding the current surfboard model on
offer. But do surfers care? Is there really a market for an environmentally friendly surfboard?
1.8 Current Alternative Technologies
The following technologies represent a step in the right direction. They are not an end all solution
to the problem of surfboard construction, but an explanation of these technologies is necessary
to understanding the current efforts by the surf industry to improve the current model.
One such technology is BioFoam. BioFoam is a type of foam that is composed of methylene diphenyl di-isocyanate (MDI) and agricultural oils. This foam is an improvement on current
polyurethane technologies because it substitutes petroleum based oils with agricultural based oils
and uses MDI instead of the much more harmful (and less expensive) toluene di-isocyanate (TDI).
By limiting the use of petrochemicals, and utilizing MDI over TDI, “a preliminary life cycle analysis
indicates that using BioFoam results in 36% less global warming emissions, a 61% reduction in
non-renewable energy use, and a 23% reduction in total energy demand.” (McMahon, N.
Homeblown US, ‘BioFoam’ (brochure). 2007)
Another person who has wholeheartedly attempted to look into creating an environmentally
friendly surfboard is Chris Hines. Chris is the Sustainability Director at the Eden Project in
Cornwall, England and has been developing the Eco Board since summer 2003. (Hines 2007, pers.
comm., May 9) The two different Eco Boards use different cores: one uses a balsa, which is a
sustainable wood due to its rapid regrowth, the other uses BioFoam. These boards are laminated
in a hemp cloth or fibreglass made from recycled glass combined with a plant-based resin. The
balsa version is sustainable, and the BioFoam version represents a big improvement over the
standard surfboard.
Tom Wegener is producing hollow wooden surfboards from Paulownia wood, harvested from tree
plantations within Australia. In addition to offering fibreglass covered wooden boards, he also
offers a full range of Paulownia surfboards that are only treated with linseed oil. In addition Tom
makes "efforts to source the biggest blocks of wood,” (Wegener 2007, pers. comm. 2 May) in
order to minimize gluing and waste from off-cuts.
Firewire surfboards are another new technology that has only come to the market in April 2006.
Firewire surfboards, far from being totally sustainable are an improvement on the standard PU
surfboard. Firewire uses an expanded polystyrene (EPS) core with epoxy resins and parabolic balsa
rails in lieu of a stringer. Although this represents a very small improvement in environmental
impact terms, the EPS/ Epoxy technology is better for the environment, and because the rails are
made from balsa, a smaller amount of foam is needed for each board.