To give more liveliness to its boards Atua

Beach, waves, body muscular and golden. Behind a nature image and "green" carefully maintained, the surf industry yet little took into account the sustainable development. "Until very recently, we saw the blow by blow and a lot of"greenwashing"of", considers Freddy Lajusticia, responsible for sustainable development at the Chamber of commerce and industry of Bayonne basque. However, things change and SMEs play a leading role. It was enough to look at innovation trophies presented the month top last by the European association of industrialists of the snow, Eurosima.

First on the podium, the Australian FSC, award-winning Green Flex method. In the 1990s, the brand, which had revolutionized the small world of sliding by inventing the removable drift, is launched in the manufacture of its products from falls of carpets. These are recovered in InterfaceFlor, the world leader in the carpet tile and then processed by a company specialized in composite materials. However, half of the new nylon fibres remain indispensable to keep drifting mechanical qualities. The birth of this project is mainly to the efforts of surfing Hardware Europe, the subsidiary of distribution of FSC. Step so easy to convince the Australian leaders, Nicholas Lartizien, the Manager of surfing Hardware Europe admits: "In this vast and sparsely populated country, the environmentalist conscience is not highly developed."

A report done by other contractors and in other countries. Thus, wax, this wax used by surfers to not slip on their Board, is derived from oil... without that it has never been a problem to anyone. Except for Damien Houques, a former convinced Decathlon that could achieve similar performance with a produced naturally. This will be the goal of his company, Natural Technology. After three years of work, dozens of tested formulations, and tests carried out on all the waves of the world, is the success. "Our Green Fix product is innovative because natural and more efficient than traditional products." Its melting point is at 60 degrees when competitors based at 40 degrees. "In addition, it is manufactured in France and will be sold at the same price," provides Damien Houques, also rewarded by Eurosima.

More informed consumers

Others go further by working on surfboards themselves. Wood origin, they are now manufactured in polyurethane. "We wanted to find alternatives for making with less impact and clean surf," explains Stephen Kitchener, one of the three founders of the young company Atua. Cores. Their idea Replace the polyurethane by of polystyrene, as is done for the boards to sailing. "Polystyrene is derived from petroleum, but it is manufactured in France and recyclable." "In addition, it works better and falls are much less important with the polyurethane", insists Stephen Kitchener. To give more liveliness to its boards, Atua. Cores is working on the development of a new technology, developed with Stark Surfoards, consisting of insert tubes of carbon on the length of the plate.

In young rat society, it goes even further by trying to replace the synthetic materials provided to manufacturers of boards ("shapers") by an agromatériaux. It was however completely revised its strategy of departure in terms of impacts on the environment, explains Pierre Pomiers, one of the founders: "it was found that the traditional manufacturing process was very durable, with a lot of waste and emissions of dust potentially very harmful volatile organic compounds.". That was conflicting with our idea of green production. "Young leaders changed thoughts and engaged in the manufacture of plates with a molding process avoiding any toxic release.

Behind SMEs, large companies now follow suit: combinations made from products recycled as fishing nets, boardshorts manufactured from other worn swimsuits... Pressure also came from the market, said Freddy Lajusticia: "consumers are more informed and responsive." At the time, the eco-design begins in textiles, which represents the bulk of the activity of the ski industry.