Field Notes

While global awareness of plastic pollution problem seems to be reaching a tipping-point, we know the war we're fighting against single-use plastic will be a protracted one. Beyond tackling the existing mess in our oceans, rivers and streams is the larger issue of turning off the giant tap -- the source...

Just in case you didn't know that the plastic problem is getting worse, not better, let the following graphics sink in... Plastic production is swelling, not receding. That includes single-use plastics. The time has come to do something about it. 

We all know single-use plastics are the scourge of the planet right now, but most don't realize the problem is only getting worse. In the next five years, our global capacity to produce virgin polymers (as opposed to recycled) is forecasted to rise by 30 percent. And that's apparently still...

Answer: Way too much.  If you're anything like me crunching numbers makes your head hurt. Have you ever taken an accounting class? Jeesh, they're tough. And the more honest the accounting, the tougher it can be on your mental health. Let's face it, some of us don't like to know...

Vipe Desai has been involved in the surf and outdoor industries since the early 1990s, when he opened H20, one of the first surf & snowboard shops on the Southern California coast. Snowboarders were considered outcasts at the time, and weren't even allowed at most resorts in the nation. But...

At the latest SIMA Speaker Series event held in San Clemente, California, in mid April, members of the Surf Industry Members Association took a hard look in the mirror as they assessed their progress as an industry when it comes to sustainability.  The unanimous verdict among the esteemed panelist was there's...