FIT OCEAN is committed to being an outdoor industry leader in the fight against climate change. Building Stand Up Paddle boards will always have an environmental footprint so we strive to minimize this footprint whenever possible by developing new eco-tech and supporting organizations that fight against climate change on the front lines. We take these efforts seriously because we care about how our actions will affect the environment for future generations.

It starts with simple steps, here’s a couple we just took recently:

• We selected a manufacturer for our boards that sources most of its raw materials locally. So to reduce transport which helps further to minimize the environmental footprint of our boards
• We discussed intensely with one of our factories and where able to literally move the painting department from the low level floor to the top level of the building with better ventilation, wich resulted in a better working climate
• We package almost all our boards now in recycled paper rather then the cheaper plastic
• We re-use carton packaging materials for sending accessories
• We selected a manufacturer for our new apparel clothing line, that is a family-owned business that uses organic Cotton
• We research and then support organizations and movements. Like the P.E.T Free movement
• We organize local World Clean Up Day events

Our quest to improve the sustainability of our products is only one facet of our environmental efforts. We strive to take real action against climate change through our partnerships with the non-profit organizations.

The World Clean Up day is dedicated to cleaning up land and water from plastics, cigarettes and all other things dumped by people. FIT OCEAN sponsors financially and with equipment the cleaning up of water and beaches. 2019 WCD Blog

The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. FIT OCEAN supports and actively organizes clean-up days ourselves.

We support The Ocean Cleanup, which is a non-profit organization, developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

Sustainable-Performance Design

Balancing the qualities of performance, durability and sustainability is one of the most difficult aspects of product design. While we strive to use as many sustainable materials as possible, we trust our lives to these boards while out on the water so we must value performance and durability equally as much.

To choose our materials we then carefully consider all three of these qualities with the goal of producing the most sustainable products possible without sacrificing performance. One of the key factors for us is the glue that is used for glueing the deck, bottom and rails of inflatable paddle boards. The boards are glued with ZEBEC 179K Glue. This is simply the best glue on the market. Resulting in not only a safe and strong product, but also a sustainable product that will last a very long lifetime.

For 2021 we further reduced plastic in factory packaging. Replacing plastic around Boards by paper and plastic around paddles by a cotton cloth bag.