13 of the Best Sustainable Surfboard Brands

Surf’s up — especially if you’re catching waves on a sustainably-made surfboard. These 13 brands are all making surfboards with eco-conscious materials and practices, and will help take your respect for the ocean to the next level.

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Ahua Surf

Ahua Surf makes custom, sustainable handmade boards by Nuno Mesquita in Portugal. The company primarily uses paulownia wood, cork, and recycled materials in its crafting. Ahua Surf states on its website, "Our commitment to sustainability extends to every aspect of our business. From our eco products and sustainable surfboard materials to our green shop practices, we're dedicated to protecting the planet and ensuring a brighter future for generations to come."

Boardcave

Boardcave is a U.S.-based company that uses flax construction to make its surfboards. Per the company's sustainability page, this means starting with Marko EPS Enviro-Foam (which in itself is made with 25 percent recycled EPS grinds and surfboard scraps). Boards also utilize flax fiber cloth and bio resin. Additionally, Boardcave sells the Alpha board fin series, which is a collaboration between Futures and Netplus to create surfboard fins from recycled fishing nets.

Firewire

Firewire Surfboards products use "volcanic lamination technology," aka basalt, instead of carbon as a more sustainable alternative. Firewire boards also use EPS foamcore, which is more eco-friendly than the stereotypical polyurethane (PU) foam. Additionally, the company uses epoxy resins for further sustainability and plastic-free shipping materials. Firewire Surfboards also partners with many environmentally-focused nonprofits, including Surfrider Foundation, Share the Stoke Foundation, Parley for the Oceans, and Surfers Against Sewage.

Grain Surfboards

Grain Surfboards makes all wooden surfboards, but its GreenRail Boards line is the most sustainable, as they are made of recycled cedarwood. Not only that, but Grain has reduced the price of its GreenRail Boards to encourage consumers to choose more sustainable options. All boards are hand-built in Maine with solid wood and recycled plastic bottles. In a further sustainability move, Grain Surfboards' apparel is made of 100 percent recycled cotton and PET.

Lib Tech

Lib Tech 's website breaks down its "ecoIMPACTO" or custom method of surfboard construction, which includes using bio-matrix plant-based resin, nitrogen cell upcycled foam for blanks (which can be recycled), and recycled foam offcuts, amongst other features. Lib Tech advertises its surfboards as "dang difficult to ding" so that you don't have to replace your board as often.

Notox

Australian company Notox 's greenOne surfboard line uses eco-friendly technology such as Sicomin’s GreenPoxy 56, a bio-epoxy, flax fabric, recycled EPS, and non-VOC (non-volatile) cleaners. According to the Notox website, each greenOne surfboard is made of 75 percent recyclable materials, which are sourced as closely as possible to the lab to reduce the company's carbon footprint.

Otter

Based in the U.K. and started in 2010, Otter makes homemade and customizable surfboards, paddleboards, bellyboards, and handplanes. The company makes items from "locally grown timber from regenerative sustainable woodlands." If you want to learn to make your own sports equipment, you can also sign up for workshop courses on Otter's website.

Paradoxal Surfboards

Designed and made in Brittany, France, Paradoxal Surfboards creates unique-looking surfboards made from green algae. The company has many sustainability initiatives, including using "waste-losses" for spools of 3D prints and upcycling local seaweed from strandings for the boards. Paradoxal also aims to reduce the amount of foam bars imported from abroad, as a surfboard's traditional foam core contributes to 26 percent of the board's total impact.

Rock-It Surf

Rock-It Surf makes surfboards for people of all ages, including beginners and kids. Its boards are made using "environmentally sensitive manufacturing processes," which includes heat-laminating surfboards and not using any harmful glues or dyes. The company also manufactures its surfboards in a facility that uses collected rainwater, and all boards are made from recycled materials.

Solid Surfboards

Solid Surfboards makes custom and premade surfboard models for whichever style you desire. The company uses sustainable materials like BIOflex and hemp, plant-based resin, and volcanic basalt to make its boards. According to Solid Surfboards' website, all of its surfboards have 100 percent recyclable EPS cores.

Spooked Kooks

Spooked Kooks invented the eco-friendly surfboard material ECO SLICK, which coats the bottom of its boards and is made of ocean-bound plastic waste. Additionally, the company makes its fin keys, leash plugs, and other fins out of recycled plastic. Spooked Kooks is also partnered with Sea Trees to plant one mangrove for every surfboard sold.

Timber Surf Co

Timber Surf Co embodies its company name by using locally sourced wood to line its surfboard blanks for its "Splinter series." The other two lines of surfboards it sells are made from cork and "bio based PU core." In addition to premade surfboards, Timber Surf Co sells templates for consumers to make surfboards at home. The company also offers accessories like fins and traction pads made from sustainable materials such as wood and cork.

Verdure

Verdure is dedicated to using the most eco-friendly materials available to amke make its boards. In addition to selling custom surfboards and individual surfboard blanks, Verdure sells soft top surfboards made from cork. Verdure products are made from recyclable EPS foam and plywood rails, and reinforced with hemp, bio resin, and natural hard wax oil.