Best Eco-Friendly Surf Products of 2024

Nothing lasts forever, and each year surfers buy new leashes, boards, fins, and wetsuits to replace their gear that’s snapped, torn, or just plain ol’ worn out. With such constant demand and inevitable turnover, it’s great to see more and more companies offering environmentally-friendly options to minimize their production impact. Now more than ever, surf companies are releasing excellent products with smaller carbon footprints, more sustainable sources, and healthier production methods. We’re proud to carry these brands and created this list to showcase the most eco-friendly surf products of 2024.

Eco-Friendly Products Featured

Leashes: Slater Designs: $31.95+

Traction Pads: Slater Designs, FCS ECO, and Dakine: $41.95+

Surf Fins: FCS II Neo Glass Eco, Futures Alpha, Lib Tech RRIPS Fins, and KS1 Endorfins: $37.95+

Surfboard Bags: FARO Canvas Surfboard Bag: $110+

Wetsuits: Patagonia Yulex Regulator and Billabong Natural Upcycler Wetsuits: $239+

Surfboards: Lib Tech Surfboards: $799.95+

Eco-Friendly Industry Insights and Updates

• In 2023, Patagonia revamped its Yulex suit and launched the all-new Yulex Regulator, complete with new fabric, liner, and seam tweak—seams were removed from high-stress areas and the exterior seam seal was swapped out for fully taped interior seams.
• The majority of wetsuit manufacturers now use more sustainable practices in the production process—dope-dyed yarns, water-based glues on seams, and fully or partially recycled materials in the liner, exterior fabric, and rubber. 
• Cleanline Surf now ships most surfboards using Flexi-Hex packaging, a much more sustainable practice than the traditional method, which uses a lot of plastic, bubble wrap, and adhesive tape.
• Billabong and Cleanline Surf have teamed up once again to produce a rare neoprene free 5/4 back zip wetsuit.

Slater Designs Leashes

The Slater Designs leash is made of recycled plastic bottles, urethane, and Yulex, the same plant-based rubber Patagonia’s wetsuits are built with. These leashes are tough with stainless steel swivels and come in two different thicknesses: comp and regular. We’ve used these leashes extensively and found them to be just as strong and dependable as any other premium leash.

Slater Designs Traction Pads

Slater Designs traction is made from Algae. Algae is a green, plant-like organism that grows extremely quickly at the surface of freshwater habitats. For their traction pads, Slater Designs partnered with Bloom, a company that brings a machine to lakes and ponds to pull algae out of the freshwater, returning clean, filtered water back to the ecosystem. Bloom then uses the algae to make flexible foams like a traction pad. In fact, each traction pad is the product of algae from about 28 gallons of filtered water.

When these pads first came out, they sounded almost too good to be true, and we weren’t sure how well algae would withstand the abuses of surfing. After a few years, we can say that these are solid as they come and haven’t had any issues with them falling off or breaking down.

FCS Eco Traction Pads

FCS recently joined the eco-friendly traction club with its diverse collection of Eco traction pads. The pad’s main ingredient is bio-foam sourced from sugarcane. The traction pads are available in the T-1 (for narrow tail boards), T-2 (for hybrid boards), and T-3 models (for performance boards), along with a Fish, Wide, and Front pad options. Caroline Marks and Otis Carey also have their own unique models made with the same sugarcane formula.

Customers rave about the thin pads, which create an ideal board feel and strong grip underfoot. If you like to customize your board, check out the various color options available for the T-3 model.

Dakine Traction Pads

Back in 2018, Dakine switched its whole line of traction pads to Friendly Foam. Friendly Foam is an EVA foam pad like the ones we’re all used to, except Dakine engineered an additive called EcoOne inside each pad. EcoOne accelerates biodegradation in the presence of chemicals in an active landfill. This means that the pad won’t break down in the ocean or after years and years after use but WILL biodegrade once it’s in a landfill. Honestly, we haven’t noticed a difference in feel, performance, or appearance since they switched over.

FCS II Neo Glass Eco Fins

The eco blend found in the Neo Glass fins is made from materials unique to FCS II. It uses a premium resin that mimics upgraded performance at a lower price point. This manufacturing process uses less fossil fuels and a smaller carbon footprint than typical construction materials. 

On the performance side of things, the versatile Neo Glass fins balance speed, flow, and response. Surfers need an all-around fin that covers everything from beach breaks to pointbreaks. FCS makes these fins in everything from your standard tri, tri-quad, quad, and quad rears. Are you a fan of the ever-popular MR Twin+1? You can now get those fins in the Neo Glass Eco construction.

Futures Alpha Net Plus Fins

Futures Alpha series of fins are made by combining recycled fishing nets (via a program called Net Plus) with their tried and true methods of fin production. Discarded fishing gear is thought to account for 10% of all the plastic pollution in the ocean, and Bureo’s Net Plus material keeps those nets out of the ocean’s food chain and repurposes them into fins.

Aside from keeping this stuff out of the water, the Net Plus program also protects wildlife and supports local fishing communities by offering them financial incentives for participating. These fins are the real deal, and with their mid-level amount of flex, they are a smart choice for any daily driver. To top it off, all Alpha fins are made domestically in Huntington Beach, CA.

Lib Tech RRIPS Fins

Lib Tech's RRIPS fins use the offcuts (imagine the corner pieces of a surfboard blank) that would normally be thrown in the trash to use as the core of their fins. This is a smart and efficient way to upcycle the extra scrap materials from their surfboard production to something great. The same environmentally friendly bio-resin Lib uses for their boards is used here, and these fins are available in a few different styles and sizes.

As a reminder, these fins only work in Lib Tech boards with their unique FOC fin box, so be sure to double-check your board before ordering.

KS1 Endorfins Surf Fins

We're not surprised that Kelly Slater has done it again on the eco-friendly front. In 2021 he introduced his new line of surf fins: Endorfins. Modeled after the KS1 fin template, the Endorfins are comprised of a 100% recycled P.E.T. (polyethylene terephthalate) core which is 90% air. The fins are so lightweight that they can float on water. In typical Slater fashion, we've found the fins can withstand the wear and tear of high-performance surfing.

Remember that the FCS II model doesn’t click in and out like a typical FCS II fin. The Endorfins have two screws for each fin, ensuring they are locked in snugly. Read more in our Endorfins KS1 Surfboard Fin Review.

FARO Canvas Surfboard Bag

An ode to the past, the Faro Canvas surfboard bag is made by hand using recycled materials. The fabric comes from Bali, Manila, and Nairobi, where locals collect plastic bottles, which are then processed into StokedPlastic Canvas. In fact, each bag is made from roughly over 45 plastic bottles apiece. From there, the material is shipped to San Diego, where it takes shape into a versatile day bag.

Although the bag isn’t recommended for air travel, it’s got the right amount of protection for daily surf missions and protects your favorite stick from sun damage and melted wax messes in the car. Just slide your board right in, zip it up, and buckle shut —simple as that.

Patagonia Yulex Regulator Wetsuits

No wetsuit company has pushed more for sustainable production in recent years than Patagonia. Their introduction of Yulex marked the first truly successful neoprene alternative in wetsuits. Yulex is a rubber that’s harvested from the sap of a rubber guayule tree in South America. This rubber is renewable, and yet it still flexes and carries the same warmth as the limestone-based neoprene we’re all used to wearing. Patagonia initially offered only a few models in Yulex, but after a few years of success and positive feedback, they now build all their wetsuits and rubber gear using this material.

Beyond Yulex rubber, they have also popularized several more environmentally friendly production techniques, such as dope-dying their fabrics, using solvent-free glue, and running a recycled polyester liner. Read more in our Patagonia Yulex Regulator Wetsuit Review.

Billabong Natural Upcycler Wetsuits

Billabong has been experimenting with many interesting materials and now proudly offers a propriety environmentally friendly rubber called Natural Rubber. Aside from the Foil, all of Billabongs suits now feature this new neoprene-free rubber. This specific rubber is exclusive to Billabong and made from a formula of 85% rubber sourced from FSC-certified forests, soybean oil, and recycled carbon black. 

In addition, Billabong has found a way to be eco-friendly by using 100% recycled materials in their jerseys - which they call Upcycler. If you’re unfamiliar, every wetsuit’s rubber is sandwiched on either side with a thin layer of fabric called a jersey. Billabong uses a blend of post consumer recycled textiles to create this external jersey on nearly every wetsuit they make.

Cleanline is excited to partner with Billabong for the 2024 release of their custom neoprene-free wetsuits: the Absolute Natural Upcycler for men and the Synergy Natural Upcycler for women. This rare 5/4 back zip model is available in both men's and women's sizing from small to 3XL for men and even a 4XL for women. What makes the deal a no-brainer is the affordable price tag of $240, which is uncommon for such a eco-friendly wetsuit.

Lib Tech Surfboards

Our neighbors to the North: Washington’s Lib Technologies, have been doing things their way for decades. Lib’s surfboards are no exception and are made 100% out of their proprietary materials. Other than the set screws for their fin boxes, literally, every material used in their boards was developed by Lib Tech for Lib Tech.

Founders Mike Olsen and Pete Saari developed their own unique, Bio-Matrix resin that’s less toxic chemically than traditional resin and requires fewer solvents during glassing. This resin also requires practically no sanding, so there is far less hazardous waste and further resin exposure to their workers. Libs also use Nitrogen Cell Foam for their blanks which are made with environmentally friendly blowing agents. Finally and best of all, Lib Tech surfboards are all made in America.

Honorable Eco-Friendly Surf Product Mentions

Treeswax: Small but mighty; Treeswax surf wax is proudly sourced from the earth using trees and rocks and offered in both cold/cool and warm/tropical blends.

Sun Bum Mineral Sunscreen: From lotions to sprays, face sticks, and lip balm, we like this sunscreen because it’s reef-safe and hypoallergenic.  

Vissla Eco Apparel: Made from 40-100% recycled polyester, Vissla’s line of eco-friendly surf-inspired apparel for men is made from the best materials.

Relevant Material We’ve Written

• Cleanline Surf Earth Day 2024 - Take a look at what Cleanline Surf is doing in the community to keep our local beaches clean.
• The Wetsuit Guide: Sustainability - Confused by all the eco-friendly industry terms? Our staff has defined many of the common terms around sustainability manufacturing processes and eco-friendly materials found in wetsuits.
• Introducing Flexi-Hex Eco-Friendly Surfboard Packaging - Read how Cleanline Surf uses earth-friendly materials for shipping surfboards.
• Patagonia Yulex Regulator Wetsuit Review - What makes the Regulator stand out from the competition? Read further for our take on features and performance.
• Endorfins KS1 Fin Review - We've tested the KS1 Endorfins for you and are stoked on the overall performance.

Final Thoughts

There you have it; those are the most environmentally friendly surf products at the shop right now. We hope more companies follow suit and can produce their gear in a more sustainable fashion. With constant turnover in surf equipment due to wear and tear, there's a significant impact on the environment, making eco-friendly alternatives crucial. Various companies are leading the charge with products such as leashes made from recycled plastic bottles and plant-based rubber, traction pads crafted from algae, and surf fins utilizing materials like recycled PET and upcycled fishing nets.

Key innovations include Patagonia's Yulex wetsuits, derived from renewable rubber sources and featuring solvent-free glues and recycled materials. Billabong follows suit with the Furnace Natural wetsuit, designed to break down in landfills. Lib Tech showcases their eco-friendly surfboards, utilizing proprietary materials and environmentally friendly resin.

If you have any questions about this gear or any of the gear on our website, leave a comment below, give us a call at 1-888-546-6176, or shoot an email to support@cleanlinesurf.com.

Also, if you see any environmentally friendly surf products you think we should be carrying, be sure to let us know!