"People Don’t Know How Bad Neoprene Is”: Meet the Designer Bringing a Sustainable Vision to Surfing
“Abigail Lorick noticed a gap in the market for a ‘by women, for women’ surf brand with a more elevated point of view, one that felt as sophisticated and timeless as the clothes she wore on dry land. The result is Ansea, launching online today. It’s the dedicated surf gear that tells the fuller Ansea story, though, particularly the wetsuits made from an innovative material called Yulex.”
By Emily Farra, VOGUE
“Nearly every other wetsuit on the market comes in neoprene, a bouncy synthetic rubber derived from petroleum or limestone (both of which are non-renewable resources). Neoprene doesn’t biodegrade, and Lorick’s research found that 380 tons of it gets thrown away every year. Yulex, on the other hand, is a 100% plant-based natural rubber that comes from hevea trees; in addition to being naturally grown and harvested, it’s a zero-waste production process and emits 80% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than neoprene. It also feels nearly identical: light, spongy, compressive.”
“Yulex is also slightly more expensive than neoprene, but if these brands want to get serious about their carbon footprint—and since their products are made for the oceans, that should be a no-brainer—it seems more than worth the investment.”
“Consumers don’t really know how bad neoprene is for the environment”— Abigail Lorick
“‘As everyone becomes more conscious of what they buy, the action sports industry will have to make that shift.’”
“For now, surfers who don’t want to put more petroleum in the ocean can pick up Ansea’s Yulex color-blocked jacket, short wetsuit, and onyx high-neck one-piece.”
Read entire article at Vogue.com
