Phoresia.org

Alternative boards and construction methods have always been out there and always will. It is the driving force behind the evolution of surfing from guys like Tom Blake up to Bob Simmons and a whole cadre of backyard and underground shapers currently cranking out boards. The only difference is now they are all interconnected through a global network and resource portals like Swaylocks. Knowledge is power, and that knowledge is being spread at an ever growing rate. Concepts and ideas are now being co-brokered from different sides of the world with results being shared nearly real-time. Materials, resources and knowledge now have a global outlet to their respective markets, whether it is a narrow niche (sustainable surfboards come to mind) or a global market.

A recent a Business Week article profiles two sustainable companies in the surf industry. They are Homeblown US and shaper Danny Hess, both whom we’ve interviewed here on Phoresia in the past year. We interviewed them because we saw the promise in what they were doing and now they are being featured in national business publications. This sort of visibility in one of the most well read business publications in America shows that sustainable and environmentally responsible business is not just some idealistic movement but also a viable and profitable business model.

There is a consciousness and growing awareness of the methods used to make our beloved surf craft and the awareness of the life-cycle impacts that our boards and equipment ultimately have on our very own playground, the ocean. In the grand scheme of things the overall impact of surfboard production is quite miniscule but it’s more about a bigger consciousness and making small changes to affect loftier environmental goals. By starting right under our own feet and trying to have less overall impact, it begins a mindset of being more conscious of everyday things that can make a positive impact, no matter how big or how small.

As Victor Hugo so eloquently put it –

“No army can withstand an idea whose time has come.”