I've been dismayed for some time that I haven't seen any substantial sign of environmental awareness in the kiteboarding industry. While Patagonia has been making impressive efforts with their wetsuits and other products, I haven't seen anything from any of the kiteboarding companies proper on this front. Gladly, I recently came across Duotone's sustainability website and am impressed.
Duotone is tackling sustainability in a variety of manners, publicly reporting on what they're doing, but most importantly recognizing that it's a journey and one has to start somewhere. Fantastic to see Duotone leading in this way, and hopefully we'll see other companies follow suit.
We are a community of people dependent on the environment and people in our home communities and afar, yet we continuously buy equipment, and travel by automobile and plane to access wind and waves. These things are hugely impactful, and we need to get serious as a community at recognizing and addressing our impacts. The earth is a plane flying in the air, and rivets have been popping from this plane for a while now, so much so that it's getting to the point where it's not clear how much longer the plane is going to stay aloft.
Take Squamish, my home spot. We may lose access soon because of salmon - there is a plan underway to remove part of the spit - and for many years now we've been forbidden to kite in close to the estuary so that birds don't get stressed out. Does it really matter if one river's juvenile salmon are given a short cut to the estuary to grow by removing a section of the spit so that they don't have to swim around the spit and dodge hungry seals, or if a few kites in the air dance around near bird habitat? Ya. When the camel is down on it's knees, another piece of straw really does matter. The seemingly trivial is no longer so in our the present Anthropocene. And so every bit that each one of us and every kite company does matters.
Anyone know about any other kite companies doing anything sustainability-wise? I hope so.
now seeing more companies doing more. Here is a UK-based company with a substantial interest in sustainability, and interesting to see them making a summer suit with Yulex (the natural rubber Patagonia has been using (developed??)). https://finisterre.com/pages/sustainability
Lieuweboards has always been a sustainable company with sustainable kiteboards and is since 2018 verified Gold Level Ecoboard builder by the ECOBOARD project.
the gear actually lasts a very long time if you take care of it .Sustainability and environmental awareness in kiteboarding probably begins with what kinda vehicle you show up at the spit with and how and how often you travel....