VAIKOBI'S SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES //

The natural world is our playground. As professional paddlers, sailors, and ocean performance athletes, we are in awe of the beauty around us from the second we hit the water. Protecting and preserving the environments we are lucky enough to enjoy is integral to our personal and business values. In maintaining this pride as a sustainable brand, we’ve implemented the following initiatives to lessen our industrial impact on the planet.

We promote innovative design and careful fabrication

Our products are crafted thoughtfully to ensure longevity and durability. We use high-quality materials, deliberate construction techniques, and abrasion-resistant textiles to create lasting gear. Our design practices aim to maximise and extend product life cycles to stop preventable waste from ending up in landfill. 

Vaikobi constructs lightweight gear with less material for heightened comfort and performance, without the added environmental impact of excess bulk.

We believe that innovation plays a critical role in harnessing new ways to mitigate resource usage. For example, our FlexForce wetsuits have a thin reflective layer of metallic element. This innovation returns more body heat to the wearer resulting in a thinner, lighter suit with less material for the same warm-keeping effect.

We recycle with the Zero Waste Box System™ from TerraCycle® (Australia)

Obtaining and processing new resources from the planet to make products from scratch is an energy-intense process. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber with flexible, water-resistant, and insulating properties, making it the most suitable material for creating wetsuit products. In its most basic form, it is made from the polymerization of chloroprene derived from petroleum or limestone. Recycling neoprene helps to reduce the exploits on climate in the initial extraction process by reusing existing materials.   

In recognizing the importance of recycling neoprene, Vaikobi has installed a TerraCycle® drop-off box at our Warriewood Headquarters on Sydney’s northern beaches. We invite our customers to drop off their old Vaikobi gear and unwanted wetsuit products in this designated carton, where it is then collected, sorted, and recycled. Customers who use the TerraCycle® box will receive a 10% discount on a new purchase. The Zero Waste Box System™ is an all-inclusive recycling solution that manages waste that your traditional household recycling services don’t accept. purchase. The Zero Waste Box System™ is an all-inclusive recycling solution that manages waste that your traditional household recycling services don’t accept. 

Want to know what we can and cannot recycle at Vaikobi? Click here to find out more.

We use responsible packaging and disposing of packaging

We have seen the impact of plastic waste polluting our streets, rivers and beaches. One hundred percent of our online shopping orders are shipped using bags made from 100% plastic pollution, and no virgin plastic. The packaging brand ‘Pollastic’ works with coastal communities that are impacted by the compounding effects of pollution and poverty, to remove plastic pollution from their beaches and riverways before it reaches the ocean. It is then recycled into packaging. Pollastic is also 200% carbon offset and traceable to source. 

For Vaikobi’s custom, team, and event orders, products are consolidated into larger cartons with only one Polybag liner. This liner eliminates the need for individual poly bags used to wrap separate garments when ordered in large numbers by athletes and retailers. 

All product packaging waste is recycled through our local commercial waste partners. 

We use REACH compliant neoprene

Vaikobi adheres to REACH compliant standards in our neoprene products. REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restriction of Chemicals that regulates product quality. Our wetsuits, base layers, and boots use only materials that don’t rely on harmful chemical additives to retain water-repellent qualities; instead, we rely on the inherent and natural properties of our yarns and fabrics.  

As neoprene is a composite material that uses chemical treatment in its production, knowing your product is safe to wear and dispose of is a critical consideration that REACH compliance satisfies, giving peace of mind to our ocean sports community when selecting products that do right by consumers and the planet. 

We engage a sustainability consultant

To help us play our part in a more sustainable future, Vaikobi has engaged a sustainability consultant. Regular consultations ensure we strive for best practices and continue to innovate across all areas of our business. For more information about sustainability at Vaikobi, please contact  sales@vaikobi.com