A public awareness campaign highlighting the toxic nature of wetsuits, the true human cost of Neoprene production and surfing’s links to Cancer Alley.
Surfings DARK secret
The vast majority of wetsuits on sale today are made from a synthetic rubber called Neoprene. Neoprene, the commercial name for chloroprene rubber, is the product of a toxic carcinogenic chemical process. There is only one chloroprene plant in the US. Owned by Japanese chemical company Denka which lies in the predominantly black, low income town of Reserve, St John’s Parish, Louisiana, in the heart of an area known as Cancer Alley. Rising from the site of a former slave plantation, the Denka chloroprene plant has cast a long dark shadow over this community for decades. No home in the community around the plant has been untouched by cancer. It has the highest cancer risk in the USA, 50 TIMES the national average. The EPA acknowledges the high cancer risk is due to chloroprene emissions from the plant.
Neoprene has been an integral part of the surf industry for decades, granting access to previously un-ridden realms and helping many forge a greater connection with the ocean environment. However, confronted with these shocking facts, and with a greener alternative called Yulex readily available, the $2820 million wetsuit industry still has not cleaned up its act and ended its toxic relationship with Neoprene. Currently there are only two brands Patagonia and Finisterre that use Yulex.
The ultimate aim of this campaign is to raise awareness of these facts, making this issue synonymous with neoprene production. Whilst asking consumers to start challenging their brands to make the change to the greener alternative and reduce the global consumption of carcinogenic neoprene.
Through billboards, magazine adverts and social media I introduced what looks like a new wetsuit brand called Neoprene Wetsuits. It would slowly come into the focus of the surf community, subtly unravelling surfing’s dark secret until it becomes part of social consciousness. Every visual will have hints of the story within it and ultimately the word neoprene will become synonymous with Cancer Alley, thus forcing consumers to challenge their brands to make the change to the greener alternative. Working with The Big Sea who have made a documentary highlighting this issue. I embedded a QR code to the campaign to take viewers to their site.
All Yulex wetsuits produced from now on would entail a “Green Sleeve”. This would be placed on the sleeve of one of the arms. It will not appear visible until the sleeve has been submerged in water or become wet and will have a wraparound branding design and QR code that highlights the issue, as the wetsuit dry’s the “Green Sleeve” will disappear. This way it is specifically targeting the consumers. Over time the Green Sleeve will become synonymous with Yulex wetsuits and lead to curiosity and conversations in the water, highlighting the industry’s dirty little secret, this then encourages the consumers to challenge their brands. Bit by bit brands will change their ways and the ones that don’t will clearly be highlighted and called out by consumers, shops, and their peers. Slowly but surely the industry will change its ways to Yulex wetsuits and reduce consumption of carcinogenic neoprene. Thus, bettering the lives of those effected in Cancer Alley. By using Yulex rubber we are fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.
