 | Everyone is attempting to make their products more green including the sporting industry. Surfboards are now being made greener with new materials that make up their composition. The industry saw change within the surfing industry when Clark Foam, a company that supplied approximately 90% of the surfboard market’s blanks (the uncut and unshaped boards) closed in 2005. The closing drew attention to the problems of using TDI (toluene diisocyanate) and polyester resin which were the materials used to make the blanks. According to the Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the materials are considered harmful to both the environment and the workers who handle them. As a result, manufacturers such as Patagonia, Surftech, Ice-Nine and Aviso have began using epoxy resins, natural composites or blanks made up of less environmentally toxic MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate). |
What is the opinion of these new boards on the market? A user's view: Darryl Hatheway, co-founder of the Washington chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental protection group, states he loves the product and has eight Surftech boards. "Normally your [polyester resin] board would be damaged before you got to the airport," he says but has found that the new epoxy Surftech boards stand up without damage. As well, he stated that he finds his new surfboards last 10 times longer, they’re lighter, easier to maneuver and float well. Expert Opion: Ken Segal, a composite materials engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Segal considers the new MDI material to be “a hazardous material; the chemical makeup is pretty close [to that of TDI]". As well, he reports that lightness and maneuverability are a result of the boards shape and not it’s composition. Segal is positive however when looking at the epoxy resin which he reports "has good mechanical properties that essentially let you get good strength and durability when bonding materials together" and is environmentally friendly. As well, epoxy is not weakened by water and does not deteriorate from ultraviolet rays. Average Price: Epoxy boards cost between $450 to $700 which is 10 to 20% more than polyester resin boards. |
