Survey summary:
Participants:
Real surf- Wellington
Blitz surf- Gisborne
Ultimate surf and skate- Auckland
Do your wetsuits have
a shelf life? And if so what do you do with wetsuits that do not get sold?
-turnover of wetsuits is quite quick
- Wetsuits that do not get sold within the ‘catalogue year’,
get placed on discount until they are sold. It is unlikely a wetsuit will be in
their shop for more than 2 full seasons, because of the way they manage them.
-Wetsuits don’t have a shelf life, but they become old
styles as brands update materials and design etc.
-Wetsuits are an expensive item to stock, so they manage
their stock levels very closely
What are the habits
of your buyers? Do they buy new wetsuits every season?
-Habits of buyers vary due to their requirements of the
wetsuit
-those who use their wetsuits regularly tend to buy a new
wetsuit every year
-Those who use their wetsuits only in the weekends usually
get 3 years out of their wetsuit
-Most regular surfers will get 2-3 years out of a winter
wetsuit. However this depends on how well they look after their wetsuits and
how perfect they want their wetsuit to be.
-Those who don’t wear their winter wetsuits regularly could
get 5+ years if they look after it well
How much wear does a
surfer get out of a wetsuit? And what is the main reason that the wetsuit has
come to the end of its lifespan?
-Wetsuits wear comes down to the owner
-If a suit is left to dry in the sun, never rinses it with
fresh water, pees in the suit and hangs it up on the shoulders when wet the
materials will deteriorate much faster, than someone who looks after their
wetsuit.
-If a wetsuit is not cared for then it will stretch in the
seams and material will reduce and wear thin and will split the seams
-Glued and stitched sealed wetsuits will slowly get pinprick
areas of leakage through wear and tear with time. However if they have internal
taping or external rubber welding the seams last longer.
-Usually after 1-2 years you’d start noticing leaks for the
normal user in a glued and stitched wetsuit
-Main reason would be due to getting holes in the wetsuit
from fin cuts or wear and tear from not looking after it properly
-If the wetsuit isn’t rinsed regularly the salt water will
gradually stiffen the neoprene
Currently what do surfers
do with their old wetsuits?
-Once they are beyond repair they send them to the landfill
-leave them sitting around at home
-If they still provide some sort of insulation and are in
good condition, they will hand them down to a friend or sell it off
Do you think if we
created some sort of exchange, that surfers would bring in their old wetsuits
to surf shops, so that we could upcycle them? Would the surf community get
behind something like this?
-A lot of surfers have a green attitude
- Surfboard and wetsuit manufacturing is not good for the environment
and any push towards a more sustainable industry the better
- Yes, I think most surfers would do this for sure if they
knew the suits were going to be used for something good and not dumped.
-I’m sure most people in the surf industry in NZ would get
behind this initiative if it was easy enough to manage as here most of the
business owners are surfers and beach goers themselves and care for the beach environment.
It is not a big business with no morals like elsewhere in the world! As for the
surf community, yes I think people would get behind it for the same reason
because most surfers care about the condition of their beaches, land and waterways
because they spend a lot of time in these environments.
Are you aware of any
recycling of wetsuit programmes in NZ?
-No, we have never been approached about it
-All no’s
Comments
Post a Comment