The ECOBOARD Project
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Kelly Slater surfs and shares thoughts on two stock Gammas, one Helium, one LFT, both ECOBOARD Verified by Sustainable Surf.
Since 2014 Firewire has been the only global surfboard manufacturer to qualify all of our surfboard production for ECOBOARD Verification by Sustainable Surf.
We’re proud of Sustainable Surf’s verification of every board we make, and we encourage all surfboard brands to collaborate with this important organization to do the same.
We believe that there is a physical limit to how much manufacturing waste our planet can absorb without a catastrophic effect on our way of life. And once you realize that, you recognize it doesn’t matter when that limit is reached, it must be stoppe, regardless of time horizon.
Our factory is audited each year by Sustainable Surf who review the materials and practices we use to build ECOBOARDS, and we are approved to build both Level One and Gold Level ECOBOARDS.
Technology Accreditation
The ECOBOARD logo represents a globally recognized independent 3rd party “eco-label” for surfboards – developed and managed by Sustainable Surf.
When you see a Firewire surfboard displaying the ECOBOARD Level One or Gold Level label Sustainable Surf has verified that it has:
• A measurably reduced carbon footprint• Renewable, recycled and/or up-cycled material inputs
• Uses materials and processes that reduce toxicity during manufacturing
ECOBOARD Level One
Firewire boards with the ECOBOARD Level One logo are:
• Built using a plant-based low-VOC resin Qualified by Sustainable Surf• Made in our factory that has been audited by Sustainable Surf
ECOBOARD Gold Level
Firewire boards with the ECOBOARD Gold Level logo are:
• Built using a high bio-content plant-based low-VOC resin Qualified by Sustainable Surf• Made with sustainably sourced wood, which reduces foam, resin and fibreglass use
• Made in our factory that has been audited by Sustainable Surf and approved to build Gold Level ECOBOARDS
Lifecycle thinking | We’re measuring our impact
Sustainable Surf and Pure Strategies completed an ECOBOARD lifecycle study in 2016, comparing the carbon footprint of a standard “poly” surfboard (PE resin/PU blank) vs. an ECOBOARD made with bio-based epoxy resin and recycled content EPS blank. Firewire provided information to support this study as did our partners at Entropy Resins.
The lifecycle results show a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of an ECOBOARD when using Entropy Super Sap bio-epoxy resin and a reduction in carcinogenic chemicals emitted during the glassing phase when using epoxy-based resins.
The study also showed that wasted resin and foam is a large factor in the total carbon footprint of a surfboard. Firewire uses industry best-practices to minimize resin, foam and wood waste, while also up-cycling waste materials that are created.
It’s no secret that our boards are shipped all over the world. What might be surprising is the small impact shipping those boards has on the total carbon footprint of producing our surfboards. The study shows that shipping and transportation of a finished surfboard is between 2 and 5% of the total impact.