“Yulex doesn’t want to see neoprene wetsuits in landfills.”

An interview with Liz Bui, CEO of Yulex, the world’s first plant-based replacement for neoprene

Ph: Yulex

“Yulex doesn’t want to see neoprene wetsuits in landfills. [Brands] should 100 per cent sell the inventory they have as that’s the most responsible thing to do. And everyone who has a neoprene wetsuit should wear it until it can’t give them another surf, and then get it fixed until it doesn’t keep them warm or function as it’s supposed to. Keeping your garments as long as you can is something any environmentalist would advocate.”

The Big Sea is premiering at the London Surf Film Festival tonight and there are still tickets available here so definitely get up there if you can make it. The Big Sea is the genuinely groundbreaking documentary about the links between the toxic production of neoprene surf wetsuits and the poisoning of already disadvantaged communities in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley.

It’s been made by Lewis Arnold, Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor and I interviewed Lewis for a past newsletter about his involvement in the doc here. It’s fair to say the film’s disclosures have sent shockwaves through the surf industry and my local surf whatsapp group, where every time someone needs a new wetsuit they ask for the best non-neoprene recommendations.

The leading alternative to neoprene is the FSC-certified natural rubber material Yulex, which was co-created with Patagonia (in an awesomely open way that allowed other brands to use and benefit from the technology), so I thought it would be interesting to chat to Liz, the CEO of Yulex, about the impact of the Big Sea, how Yulex is becoming more accessible and what people and brands should do with their neoprene wetsuits. (Also enter my first comp below for a chance to win a freediving mask set up.) I hope you enjoy our chat.

Hey Liz, how’s it going? The Big Sea premieres in London tonight, what impact do you think the film has had on surf brands and consumers when it comes to looking for alternatives to neoprene.

We’re at a turning point now and I think the Big Sea has helped. Even though it hasn’t been released yet, it’s got everyone talking about the issue and pushed people to really start owning their decisions and thinking about plant-based alternatives, of which Yulex was the first.

The issues of environmental racism and injustice that we saw in Cancer Alley in Louisiana [outlined in the film], you can see all over the world with petrochemical plants being located in areas where there are predominantly brown and black folk and also people with less means or less of a voice or people who feel like they have less of a voice.

That’s sadly a blemish on a lot of western countries but in this specific region at times the emissions were 10 times the recommended figure and there was just no denying that people in those areas were getting sick and with unusual cancers too, that were 10 times above the natural incidence rate. That’s a huge statistic which is hard to deny.

Everybody has a different journey in terms of owning that responsibility, but I feel like we’re at a tipping point with brands, even big brands, now being open to that conversation, which they weren’t three or four years ago.

Liz after climbing the highest (contiguous) mountain in the US

What do you say to brands who suggest limestone neoprene, known as geoprene, is a good alternative?

Geoprene is created from limestone, which is a non-renewable resource that is drilled, mined, and extracted. Its extraction is more energy intensive than the raw materials for neoprene, as outlined in this blog on our website, so it’s definitely not eco by any stretch. The age old excuses from brands that we’re using geoprene instead of neoprene doesn’t sit well anymore as there’s no science behind it.

What should brands do with their existing neoprene wetsuits inventory or consumers for that matter?

Yulex doesn’t want to see neoprene wetsuits in landfills. [Brands] should 100 per cent sell the inventory they have as that’s the most responsible thing to do. And everyone who has a neoprene wetsuit should wear it until it can’t give them another surf, and then get it fixed until it doesn’t keep them warm or function as it’s supposed to. Keeping your garments as long as you can is something any environmentalist would advocate.

Yulex wetsuits can be quite expensive. What’s your plan with that?

Yulex is on a mission to replace petroleum products with plant-based products. We’re really trying to change behaviour and the behaviour of addiction to plastic and petroleum and in order to do that you have to have accessible and competitive products that perform for the mass market. We did a deal with Decathlon [for summer wetsuits] to that end.

And we’re excited that Gul wetsuits with Yulex 2.0 technology will be the official rental wetsuit at Lost Shore, the new wave pool that is opening near Edinburgh in Scotland. The resort looks really cool, they’re using water from the canal and cleaning and recycling it so they’re not tapping into drinking water supplies. They tested different wetsuits with Edinburgh Napier University as part of their Surf Lab partnership and Yulex came out to be warmer than the others. Gul wetsuits will be a lot more accessible in terms of price.

Ph: Yulex

Is neoprene toxic to humans who wear it and marine life when humans wear it in the sea?

Actual neoprene foam itself is inert, it’s the production of it that produces toxic emissions, but you have to ask yourself if you want to be involved with that. To be a responsible consumer you can’t think that because your wetsuit is not cancer-causing to you or harmful to marine life it doesn’t matter.

Are natural rubber suits recyclable?

Patagonia is recycling their Yulex wetsuits into reclaimed carbon black which can be used to make new wetsuits. It’s still quite energy intensive but at least it starts that conversation with regards to end of life.

But the best thing surfers can do, whether it’s neoprene or Yulex, is to keep on wearing their wetsuits and getting them fixed, as we all want to be good stewards.

For more on Yulex head here, and to find out more about the Big Sea and future screenings head here.

Other news:

Maya and the Wave is another awesome film showing at the London Surf Film Festival this weekend, with tickets available here. Thanks to the kindness of Yvette at Wave Wahines I got to see the film in North Devon a couple of weeks ago and it’s a cracker which delves into the sexism and challenges Maya has faced in her big wave surf career and definitely needs to be seen on a big screen.

While we’re on sexism, big wave surfing and super impressive, brave women athletes, my cover interview for Huck Magazine with North Devon’s Laura Crane is up online here.

I loved the mix of joy and lament in this Patagonia short about the last manual weather station operators in Sweden and Elizabeth Kolbert’s excellent New Yorker piece on the melting of Arctic ice in Greenland has been haunting my thoughts for a good few weeks now.

Finally, the kind folk at Agulhas, who make freediving equipment with minimal impact and promote ocean conservation, founded by the South African diver and ocean advocate Hanli Prinsloo, have offered up a dive mask and snorkel for a lucky reader (pictured below). If you’d like to win and would definitely use the product, drop me a short message in the comments on why you like freediving.

Please fwd this newsletter to anyone who you think might be interested & if you have any story tips on any of these themes pls get in touch.