IS BLUE THE NEW GREEN?

With Concept Blue the brand Duotone created its own sustainability approach. Could you briefly summarize how this concept came about?

Klaas: "A few years ago, Boards & More embarked on a sustainability journey with the Save Our Playgrounds campaign, placing increased emphasis on all aspects of our actions within the company. Save Our Playgrounds has a more global approach, from our clean beach day campaigns, to more eco friendly packaging, optimized shipping, to lowering the carbon footprint at our production facilities, just to name a few.

With Concept Blue we’re tackling the products and used materials itself, both hard and soft goods. Concept Blue stands as a crucial component of our long-term strategy at Duotone, advancing the discourse on sustainability within our product range.

We established the Concept Blue initiative, leveraging all available resources. Thoroughly we analyzed the raw material production process to identify the areas with the highest potential for CO2 savings. Our goal was to explore alternative materials that could substitute the current ones. This task is challenging since the materials employed must endure substantial stress and external factors like wind, saltwater, and UV radiation. Nonetheless, we can confidently assert that we currently utilize the best materials available on the market."

How does the Unit SLS Concept Blue differ from the other Unit models?

Max: "The 2025 Unit in the new SLS Concept Blue construction bridges the gap between the Unit D/LAB and the original Unit. For excellent power delivery and stiffness, we replaced the 240-gram Dacron in the center panels with 82-gram Aluula and used Penta TX in the rest of the frame. Like this we slightly reduced the diameter of the leading edge and lowered the weight. Both materials make for greater stiffness and more grunt at reasonable costs.

Same as already in the Slick Concept Blue, the Unit SLS Concept Blue differs from our original Unit by the materials used to reduce environmental impact. We have identified three key measures to enhance sustainability in our wings.

Firstly, we eliminate color entirely from all fabrics, including the canopy, Dacron and Penta TX. Traditional dyeing involves harmful solvents and requires thousands of liters of water for rinsing, which we have successfully eliminated.
Secondly, we use a bio-based bladder, which, though not 100 percent organic, is currently the most sustainable bladder product on the market, offering up to 57 percent bio-based material and yielding approximately 30 percent CO2 savings.
The third measure involves the use of injection-molded parts. This production process typically generates substantial standard waste, ranging from 10 to 30 percent, depending on the part. We actively recycle this waste in our production to create other plastic components. For instance, the discs that house the valves or the cap of the airport valve are crafted from this recycled plastic. Each of these recycled material pieces is clearly marked with the Save Our Playgrounds logo for easy identification. While we haven't altered the valve itself, as it is a safety-critical component, that is our next planned step. This move aims to achieve maximum utilization of recycled plastic in all components."

UNDYED FABRICS

Key ingredients of Concept Blue in wings include undyed canopy and dacron showcasing the natural color of untainted materials. Please note undyed wings are not simply white wings. By not dying the fabrics, a significant amount of water can be saved during the process!

Areas with undyed fabrics:

• Leading Edge: Dacron / Penta TX

• Middle Strut: Dacron / Penta TX

• Canopy: MOD3 / MOD3 S

Our savings in numbers:

• Up to 46% less water usage

• Up to 35% energy savings

• Up to 12% CO2 footprint reduction

• 100% savings of dyestuff

BIO-BASED BLADDER

Our wings embody the core principles of Concept Blue further more by using a bio-based bladder. The bio-based bladder not only reduces carbon footprint by up to 29% but also boasts a remarkable 57% bio-based carbon content, aligning with sustainable practices and measurements.

Our savings in numbers:

• Up to 29% less carbon footprint

• Up to 57% Bio-based carbon content

• Bio-based carbon can be measured according to an world wide standard (ASTM d6866)

RECYCLED PLASTIC PARTS

Moreover, Concept Blue prioritizes the use of recycled plastic in the manufacturing of most plastic parts, with a minimum of 50% post-industrial recycled material incorporated. This initiative not only contributes to reducing plastic waste but also supports a circular economy by repurposing existing materials.

Using undyed fabrics for the wings clearly reduces design options, how can you describe the visual approach?

Max: "What started out as a limitation has quickly developed into a popular concept. We highlight our use of "undyed fabrics", a crucial distinction from white cloth employed by other manufacturers for further processing or printing. Unlike white cloth, undyed material is not subjected to a regular dyeing process to achieve a pure white tone; therefore, color particles are not applied in the typical dyeing process. We extensively discussed this matter with manufacturers and firmly concluded that undyed material is, in fact, a more sustainable choice than white cloth. Our undyed material maintains a relatively white appearance, albeit not entirely white. Emphasizing this aspect is essential to convey that our Concept Blue wings prioritize undyed over white, aiming to eliminate the traditional dyeing process entirely."

Klaas: "So if you know the background behind this plain undyed look of the Concept Blue wings, it’s kind of a statement to ride them and we are sure there will be customers willing to ride more sustainable products. Besides that, the design was very well received as it actually looks pretty cool and premium. Features like tape stripes to highlight the design language of the main panels create a distinctive long-distance effect. The Concept Blue wings are designed to maintain a certain appeal, even with a reduction in prints, ensuring its visual allure remains captivating."

How do you assess the potential development of demand for Concept Blue? Will it remain one of several construction methods or will we only see Duotone Concept Blue products on the market at some point in the future?

Klaas: "The current plan involves operating on two tracks: continuing with the existing construction methods while simultaneously advancing the rollout of Concept Blue. In the end, the decision also rests with the customer. Some people only shop in organic stores, others in regular supermarkets. One can always argue about taste in terms of design, but as said, this is also an ideological question. Performance shouldn’t be negatively influenced under any circumstances. We are convinced that there will be a demand for Concept Blue products – our Concept Blue wings are the best proof of that. We wouldn’t switch everything to Concept Blue, however, we see this as a development process. We are moving on a path to become more sustainable step by step.

This not only applies to Concept Blue, but also to our company's entire sustainability strategy at Boards & More. We look at our products every year and think about where we can make changes to make production more sustainable and save on CO2, waste, etc. If we observe the establishment of certain materials and a corresponding demand, we have the flexibility to expand their usage. However, it's crucial to emphasize that these more sustainable materials come at a higher cost. The bladder, for example, is more expensive, but we consciously forego margin here and will offer the wings at the same price. That means we need a certain number of units to keep the whole thing at a reasonable price level. If we reach this critical mass, it is of course possible that we will use certain materials throughout the entire range. However, this does not automatically mean that the entire product will then run under Concept Blue. In the end, it's about a certain amount of a product having to be produced more sustainably to run as a Concept Blue product. If only a fraction of the used parts is more sustainable, it is surely not part of Concept Blue product range."

You previously touched on the topic of recycling and said that you already use recycled materials. It's one thing to build new products from recycled materials. But do you already have an idea of what happens to your products at the end of their lifespan?

Max: "We have been dealing with this exact topic for quite some time. This doesn’t just apply to Wing Foiling, but again to the entire Boards & More Group. The original idea came years ago together with a company called Teufelberger. Basically, most of our products are hazardous waste if they are disposed of. So, we thought about what we could do to collect the products at the end of their lifespan and return them sensibly so that they can be recycled so that they don't end up rotting in some cellar or on the beach. However, this is an issue that we cannot tackle alone. For this we need the producers and a network, and we also have to keep calculating how sustainable it is. For example, to send a container ship full of used wings from A to B so that these wings can possibly be recycled. This is a discussion that unfortunately cannot be answered in two sentences.

Our vision is to create something like this in the future, and we are already discussing this with our manufacturers. Of course, it is again important to have a critical mass above which it is worthwhile to implement such processes. Long story short: We're not at that point yet, but we have this idea on our agenda. We already have a good network for this with our Pro Centers and Pro Shops, but like I said, as of right now it's just a vision, and the extent to which this can be represented needs to be seen step by step. It's not just about taking back the product itself. For a wing, comprised, for instance, of 90 percent polyester, recycling only makes sense if the polyester can be repurposed into high-quality material."

What's the difficulty in recycling wings?

Max: When dealing with fibers, generating new high-quality fibers from recycled material is inherently challenging. While we are actively working on this, it is a process that will require some time. Alternatively, one can explore the avenue of upcycling, repurposing recycled wing material for different constructions. However, achieving an ideal scenario of a circular economy, where a used wing is completely recycled, and new wings are crafted from the recycled materials, poses significant challenges. The molecular structure of the material undergoes changes with each recycling cycle, making this process not indefinitely sustainable.

For example, you could mix some recycled material with some unrecycled to ensure you always maintain the same high quality. But as I said, this is a topic that we are discussing with our producer, but it is a big challenge. Perhaps we also need to think about rolling out such a concept across the entire wing industry to achieve the necessary critical mass so that it really offers meaningful added value in terms of sustainability. I think we all have a responsibility in the industry to think in this direction. We cannot absolve ourselves of this and must take these steps little by little.

When can we expect Concept Blue Wing & Foiling boards?

Klaas: "Wait and see ;-)"