1. WHY IS CONSERVING AND PROTECTION THE OCEANS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
We owe – quite literally – everything to planet earth. If life has any meaning or purpose it must be to take care of her… and everything and being on it. And enjoy ourselves while doing so of course 😉
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT IS BETTER FOR THE OCEANS?
To SRFACE, ‘sustainability’ isn’t just some marketing buzzword. It’s simply the way we do business. That means we consciously weigh every decision we make: What materials to use (and not to use) in our products, what packaging to ship our products in, what carrier to use and what fulfillment companies and other partners to work with. And since we’re being honest: Sometimes these are very hard decisions to make.
To guide us through the ‘green wilderness’ we’ve created a simple framework we use when we’re lost. If we’re not sure what material to use for our wetsuits or packaging, or if we have to choose between suppliers, we weigh the following components: Planet, Quality and Price. We score each component with 1 or 2 minuses or plusses. Sometimes we sacrifice on Price or Planet if there are no high quality alternatives. We believe that only by creating the ultimate wetsuit we’ll be able to generate the impact we need to change things for the better.
We believe that the only way forward – for all of us – is to evolve to fully circular business models. Even though this is not possible yet, we will pursue this goal and will not stop looking for innovations until this goal is reached.
3. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE SURFING INDUSTRY SPECIFICALLY CAN BE DOING TO SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF THE OCEANS?
It all comes down to the decisions people make, both in the industry and on the consumer side. What we need, in my opinion, is more awareness, courage and honesty. Awareness to understand why certain decisions are made in the first place: It’s easy to choose profit or a cheaper wetsuit over the well being of our planet. Awareness gives you a choice. It then takes courage not to choose the path of least resistance but choose a more holistic approach to doing business and living. And we definitely need more honesty and transparency. We see a lot of brands out there claiming to be sustainable. And to be honest: It’s bullshit. I recommend to do your research before buying anything. Things are definitely moving in the right director, but I wish they’d move faster 🙂
4. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY BOOKS, BRANDS, ORGANISATIONS OR PEOPLE OUR FOLLOWERS SHOULD CHECK OUT FOR INSPIRATION?
Brands with courage and an authentic story inspire me: Patagonia, Ace&Tate, Fairphone to name a few.
A classic book that I re-read just this week is Feel the fear and do it anyway. For anyone out there wanting to build a life around doing what you love (or already struggling ;): Pick this one up.
And last but definitely not least: The whole SRFACE team motivates me to be a better CEO every day. They’re a crazy bunch of geniuses and I truly enjoy being on this rollercoaster with them.