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When a giant Balsa tree fell to earth in Eden's Tropical Biome, helping the surfing world out of its toxic hole was an improbable outcome. Lateral thinking is however something Eden's team do well and having Chris Hines on board, the man who made Surfers Against Sewage into a £5 billion project, anything can happen.

After ten years of leading surfers in their mission to clean up Britain's beaches, Chris is continuing his endeavours to making the world a greener place by working as Eden's Sustainability Director. A surfer himself, he and colleague Pat Hudson were only too aware of the irony of the surf lifestyle image being severely at odds with their toxic choice of fibreglass craft.

Champion surfer Russell Winter puts the Eco-Board through its paces

What followed was the creation of the 'Eco-Board'. Shaped from the fallen balsa wood, this 'blank' was coated with hemp cloth and a plant based resin. Bearing more resemblance to original Hawaiian boards shaped in the 1800's than their modern day synthetic counter parts, the team knew performance and price was going to be an issue. This first prototype had cost £3000 and when ridden was too slow and heavy to attract top competitors.

Back to the drawing board, Eden began working with local board makers to revolutionise manufacture. The latest prototype, a collaboration between Eden, blank manufacturers Homeblown, Sustainable Composites and Hillzee Surfboards, is the Bio-Foam Board, made using a 50% plant-based blank and laminated in hemp cloth and a plant-based resin.

The result is far lighter and apart from the colour - sallow as opposed to the bright white of the plastic equivalent - there is little to tell them apart. Chris Hines said:

"We have christened Portreath 'eco-board valley'; there is more sustainable activity in that valley, doing more for cleaning up the industry, than anywhere else in the world. The boards have just been launched in Florida at the biggest surf trade fair in the world and already companies such as Hollingsworth who make Surfline in Hawaii and Lightning Bolt boards are moving exclusively to buying blanks made from Homeblown's bio-foam"

Russell Winter holds aloft the Eco-Board at Eden

Hopes are now high that the new greener technology will win over the Californian surfing industry recently shaken by the closure of Clark Foam. This giant company manufactured 65 per cent of the world's surfboard blanks but went out of business following stringent new environmental regulations.

Chris Hines said: "Showing a prototype surfboard to the Californians may seem like taking coals to Newcastle but we believe that the new version of the Eco Board represents a hugely-exciting leap forward for the industry and sport."

Homeblown Managing Director Tris Cokes said: "I've been making boards for 40 years and in that time surfing has become a huge global industry with global environmental and social impacts..."

Not only are Homeblown leading the way with sustainability in manufacture, they are also acutely aware of the environmental impact of exporting their product. Making the blanks close to the market is a vital part of their ethical stance and opening factories in San Diego and one in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa together with their Redruth outlet reflects their level of commitment to the environmental cause.

Tris says: "We believe it is vitally important to reduce 'surfboard miles' by manufacturing close to the market... By following this policy we reduce the carbon footprint and global warming impact of the sport. It is a form of madness to transport surfboard blanks half way round the world. Big volume and low weight being transported long distances equals a big negative environmental footprint."

With orders for Homeblown's new Bio-Foam Board already placed by world champion Kelly Slater and his longest sparring partner Rob Machado, influential backing couldn't get much higher.

However, whilst momentous leaps have already been made in 'eco-board valley', the revolutionary team just keep raising the stakes. Ultimately they want the whole industry turning to fully biodegradable boards - and that surely will be a wave worth riding.

Chloe Wild
Photos by Nic Gregory

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