Yulex is the producer of a natural rubber, plant-based, neoprene alternative- and most well known for its replacement of neoprene in surf wetsuits. Patagonia wetsuits have been made from Yulex foam since about 2016 for example.
What does Yulex foam have to do with the documentary The Big Sea?
The Big Sea is a documentary by British filmmakers Lewis Arnold, Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor. The film's premise is that most of the industry's wetsuits are made of neoprene (polychloroprene, a form of synthetic rubber) and certain wetsuit manufacturers have been (or had) purchased chloroprene from Denka (formerly Dupont) to make for their neoprene wetsuit production.
Denka is located in St. John's Parish, which is part of the 85 mile cancer alley corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This corridor is referred to as cancer alley because of the high toxic emissions of chemicals that are emitted by the over 150 petrochemical plants, oil refineries, and chemical manufacturers located there.
Decades of high chloroprene emissions by Denka are well documented by the EPA and described in many peer-review scientific journals. The high emissions and their link to various human cancers in St. John's parish, including certain cancers with risks 50 times that above the national (USA) average.
Wetsuit manufacturers have or had purchased chloroprene from Denka.
Yet Yulex foam, a plant-based alternative, was / is available and has been since about 2016.
The Big Sea won Best Film at the London Surf Film Festival this year. It will tour the UK and Europe from January ‘25 with US and Australia dates to follow.
