Tabou Windsurfing Boards 2012 Catalog

Gaastra Kites 2012 Catalog

Sessions with Susi: Kiting on Cook Islands

NKB Kiteboarding 2012 Catalog

Thinking  about  sustainability.

In the wake of climate change, the term ‘sustainability’ has become a political one, it has been elevated to a top issue and today it is commonly used, and sometimes misused, in many contexts. Apart from the fact that life in general depends on an intact environment, the practice of our sport in particular is only possible in cooperation with nature. In 2008, we became increasingly concerned with concepts for sus  tainability regarding material, production and marketing. We thought about how we could contribute to improving the environment and which possibilities we had to make production more sustainable. The most obvious idea was to produce kites from recycled polyester, similar to the outdoor sports industry. Our Japanese cloth supplier Tejin, the leading producer of textile polyester fabrics, developed a perfectly functional material for North Kiteboarding. There was only one catch. The technical requirements for kite material are so high that they can only be reached with pure polyester. Due to the elaborate process that is needed to produce such pure polyester from recycled materials, the energy balance is worse than that of polyester made from new raw materials. Therefore, we can currently only wait for technical advances that will allow us to be able to produce the material in a more sustainable manner.

The second large product group is that of kiteboards. These were and still are made predominantly of PVC or PVC-EPS cores that are laminated with glass fiber and PU or Epoxy. The most critical product involved in this process is PVC, which causes serious ecological problems throughout the entire product life cycle. It starts with its production from carcinogenic chloride compounds with heavy metals and ends with the unsolved problem of its proper disposal.

The typical form of disposal is combustion, which releases dioxins and furans. Therefore, we have been replacing the PVC in our boards with wood and bamboo from managed plantations. These new cores are not only much safer to dispose of; they also produce better boards with more vivid riding characteristics for our customers. The boards are then UV-coated, which completely eliminates the use of solvents. Our production site in Austria, close to our main markets, offers the advantage of short routes of transport that signifcantly improve the energy balance.

When talking about sustainability we must also consider the human factor. Our main production sites are located in Sri Lanka and Austria. There is no need to say much about working conditions in Austria, as the standards in Western Europe are generally very high. In the free trade zones of Sri Lanka, however, working hours, minimum age and wages are clearly regulated and monitored in contrast to conditions in India or China. Nevertheless, there is no child labor in our Sri Lankan plants, we pay above standard rates and provide additional social benefts.

Unfortunately, we are not yet able to claim that we are a thoroughly ‘green’ business, because so far, there are simply no entirely ecologically sound materials or production processes available for many of our products. However, we continually try to optimize individual steps and chains of production with great care in order to fnd the best compromise for durability, quality, the ecosystem and our workforce, even if that makes our products a little more expensive. In that respect, we hope that the concept of ‘sustainability’ will itself be recycled and not lose its current vogue, like many other ‘trends’ have in the past.

NeilPryde Waterwear 2012 Brochure

Cabrinha Kiteboarding 2012 Brochure

Connections.

Its about linking with the type of people who share your vision, engage your thoughts, and walk your walk. Its about creating a network of friends. Its about shrinking the globe and spreading the kite surfng vibes face to face, hand to hand, person to person. As much noise as everyone makes about being connected today, its also just as important to disconnect. To step aside and get away from it all. To put into effect your get away plan. This balance of connecting and disconnecting is a big part of the kiteboarding experience. The ability to be with friends and yet be miles away from it all at the same time.

The Single Life. Rusty Film