Environmental movement has lost...?

This is the provocative headline for an interview with Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. Although you will find this claim in the depths of the interview with Chouinard's view that the corporations have won, the majority of the interview is actually very positive. However, accepting this, Chouinard is trying to do something more radical -to change the corporation itself. He's doing this at Patagonia by changing:

• its supply chain - partly through the Sustainability Apparel Coalition (note - NO other surf company appears to be a member),
  
• its working conditions - when there's surf, people downtool and go shred, making the time up later,
  
• its response to economic downturn - bosses take a pay cut, and
• its corporate structure - the directors are protected from legal challenges if they put environmental or social issues above pure profit.

Coincidentally, BBC Radio 4 has an interesting 15 minute 'Four Thought' programme by Clare Melford, CEO of the International Business Leaders Forum about corporate sutainability based on Buddhist principles but coincidentally aiming for 'the triple bottom line' that Patagonia's model is also aiming at.

Unfortunately, the driving force of business seems to be to persuade people that they 'need' things that they only actually 'want'. The likes of Patagonia and the companies represented by Clare Melford are in the minority but seem to be the only hope that an increasing human population with aspirations of increasing consumption can continue to live on the one earth we have.

What goes around...

Used by ancient cultures for millenia to symbolise the sun, the ages of woman and the turning of the seasons, the spiral is the most meaningful symbol for surfers.

The spinning of a low pressure system that generates swell, the turbulent eddies that increase the size of the waves within the swell and the beautiful spirals of seashells on the seashore are the good spirals.

But what goes around comes around. Cheap oil has led to cheap plastic which ends up in the ocean and can survive for hundreds of years The spiralling currents concentrate it into certain areas. The most famous is the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch‘ covering thousands of square miles. These are the bad spirals that poison the ocean and eventually leave plastic litter on the beaches (33 years later in some cases).

What can we do? Take Surfrider Foundation‘s Pledge to rise above plastics, take part in SAS’s 2012 Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project and, next time the good spirals deliver you some surf, take some bad spiral plastic home for recycling.

Patagonia launches food line - Finisterre to retaliate?

The surprising news that Patagonia have launched a food line shrink-wrapped for easy eating by rough outdoorsy types had me searching for a calendar to make sure it isn't April 1st. But no - its true. They're selling salmon from sustainable sources, caught sensitvely by local people. This is great news (although it seems a bit expensive at $12.50 a packet).

Will St Agnes-based Finisterre (the UK equivalent of Patagonia) feel duty-bound to retaliate? If so, they don't have to look far. For centuries, the Cornish pasty has provided portable sustenance for miners, surfers and even grockles. Now it's received Protected Regional Identification status, its ticks the 'made by locals' box. All Finisterre have to do is source an organic one and flog it in a paper bag made of 100% post-consumer waste paper to make it even more sustainable than Patagonia's offering. Proper Job.

Do you know your water footprint?

Water footprints are a similar concept to carbon footprints. We use a massive amount of water at home (the UK average is about 150 litres / person / day) but water use is also 'embedded' in the food we eat, clothes we wear and stuff we buy.

While water is a totally renewable resource, the way we use it (and abuse it) matters to surfers. Water and sewage treatment uses huge amounts of energy which contributes to climate change and many surfbreaks are polluted by sewage and industrial discharges and run-off from farming land and roads.

Pioneering US surf and outdoor apparel company Patagonia have been campaigning against dams and are taking action to reduce their water footprint through its 'Our Common Water' campaign. They are also supporting the idea of 'water offsetting' which involves buying certificates that are used to restore damaged rivers. This is a new approach for water although the idea of buying carbon credits has been around for some time and is very controversial among environmentalists as it often doesn't go hand in hand with reducing carbon use and is a soft option compared with regulating water usage and discharges.

In Europe, improvements to water are being driven by the Water Framework Directive. There are local plans which set out measures needed to improve water 'bodies' (including inshore waters).

Here are 5 relatively easy ways to measure and reduce your water footprint:
1) estimate your water footprint
2) take some easy actions to reduce water use at home, including eating less meat
3) buy products from companies that consciously use less water and use proper treatment
4) encourage local government and businesses to reduce their water footprints, and
5) join Surfers Against Sewage or the Surfrider Foundation.

Drought - gentlemen, the answer is in your hands

With half of the UK in drought, what can we do to help? Well, it appears as if the UK water industry treats (to drinking water standard) and supplies 17 billion litres of water every day and has to treat a massive 16 billion litres of 'wastewater' (sewage to you and me). This is simply a huge waste of money and carbon as very little of the water has to be drunk or used for washing food that will be eaten raw.

What are the easy ways for us to do our bit to combat the drought when performing toilet duties:
1. As flushing bogs uses at least 3 litres of water, cut out the processing and tinkle in your wetsuit (but rinse it in a water butt afterwards),
2. Pee in the shower or washbasin (probably not while cleaning your teeth)
3. When taking a leak in the bog, 'if its yellow, let it mellow'.

The above advice is equally applicable to women, although may be harder to perform.

Surf retailing - what next?

I've been touring the surf shops of Brighton, handing out posters for the Museum of British Surfing's first exhibition at its permanent home in Braunton, Devon*. It's made me realise how much surf retailing has changed and wonder where its going.

There are 3 'proper' independent surfshops (Filf/Bone Idol, Oceansports and Brighton Watersports) run by surfers (or other watersports enthusiasts) all within sight of the sea. These all have long pedigrees and sell the hardware needed by surfers as well as surf brand clothing. The other 2 shops are outlets for global 'outdoor lifestyle' brands O'Neill and Quiksilver (2011 gross profits US$1.08BILLION) that are located smack bang in the the heart of the shopping centre and mainly sell their own brand clothing and a little bit of the other hardware (wax) needed by surfers. Then, of course, there is the growing band of online retailers, including the local surf community website, Sharkbait, able to operate without coughing up for retail premises.

I can't help wondering where surf retailing is heading. My own experience of buying from big online shops hasn't been too happy - products didn't live up to expectations or the wrong stuff was sent necessitating time, money and hassle exchanging it. I don't resent the founders of global brands (surfers themselves) cashing in on the popularity of the surfing lifestyle, but I don't want to swell their coffers anymore.

Independent surfshops must be getting squeezed from all directions but there has to be a future for them as no-one in the right minds buys a surfboard or wetsuit without inspecting them or trying them on first and its these shops that are most familiar with local conditions. Spending money in these shops helps the local economy, rather than making multinationals even richer. Support your local surfshop.

*All shops I visited were very willing to take the posters and show their support for the Museum which started in Brighton.

Want to be a bit more eco-surf friendly?

The surfing industry has - very slowly - been waking up to its environmental impact over the last few years. Even though we 'are at one with the ocean', our sport is actually pretty destructive, as we largely use oil based products and have / want to travel to surf. Foam blanks and glassing also uses nasty chemicals called volatile organic compounds which have also been linked with cancer. The production of cotton for clothing is also pretty damaging to the environment.

So what can a surfer do if s/he wants to reduce their environmental impact? Here are some ideas:
1. Don't buy if you don't need to. I'm not advocating stealing or surfing butt naked - just really evaluating if you need new stuff. Try to look after it and mend it.
2. Buy second hand. Buying second hand boards is an especially good way of extending the life of stuff.
3. Buy goods made in a more environmentally friendly way. This can be a bit difficult as not many surf companies use internationally recognised standards, but usually buying stuff made from recycled materials (usually 'upcycled' from something less valuable e.g. a fleece made from recycled bottles), a natural material rather than oil (e.g. cork deck pad rather than plastic), organically grown materials is better. Companies that specialise in this kind of thing are Patagonia, Finisterre, SAS and Wave Tribe for wetsuits, clothing and accessories and Otter and Grain or Unsung Hero for wooden surfboards or biofoam alternatives. Even the big brands are now doing more eco-friendly stuff - search an online site like Surfdome using the term 'recycled' and you'll be stunned with what's out there. It can be a bit (or -for some of these, a lot) more expensive but use online sales and look after it.
4. Travel less and / or share vehicles. Try to use cars and ferries rather than flying. When you get there, stay somewhere that leaves a light footprint.

Tony Butt has set this out far more eloquently in his SAS guide to sustainable surfing, but I hope this provides a few easy tips to help you.

SAS Spring Beach Clean this weekend

Plastic - the scourge of modern life. Every time I go to the beach I bring some home for recycling. Its usually a bottle or bit of fishing net, but occasionally something a bit more interesting like a vacuum cleaner hose or - on one memorable occasion, a Toilet Duck bottle with 2 goose barnacles attached. I looked up a recipe in a Rick Stein book and cooked them (barnacles, not duck) for my tea, much to my good lady wife's disgust. They were lush.

Marine litter is a big menace - it lasts for centuries, kills sea creatures and gets into the food chain. This weekend, SAS are doing their annual Spring Beach Clean and I'll be there (in Shoreham) to hopefully snag myself some more parasitic percebes.