I – YULEX® Natural Rubber: the only true eco-friendly material for wetsuits
YULEX® Natural Rubber is the only renewable & plant-based alternative to petroleum & limestone based ‘neoprene’ that is sourced sustainably.
The FSC®-Forest Stewardship council label guarantees that all Hevea trees used to create YULEX® Natural rubber are:
Sustainably grown and harvested
Irrigated by ambient rainfall
Participating to protect the social and economic well-being of forest dependent communities
Available in uninterrupted supplies
Processed with recycled and recharged water supply aquifer during manufacturing
It also reduced CO2 emissions by up to 80% and has the lowest carbon footprint of the market. Neoprene and limestone neoprene are produced in factories after being extracted from our earth with heavy machines whereas natural rubber is produced by Hevea trees cultivated responsibly, which means they absorb carbon throughout their lifespan and therefore reduce CO2 emission linked to the production of YULEX® Natural rubber by up to 80%.
In order to have a comparison, Limestone neoprene, which is qualified as eco-friendly by most brands on the market (greenwashing?) is actually one the most energy-consuming and has one of the heaviest carbon footprints along with petroleum-based neoprene. Limestone requires mining, transportation to the production site before it’s heated at 3600°F and undertakes seven chemical transformations, creating a lot of chemical waste such as acetylene gas. Its only advantage compared to neoprene is to reduce dependance to the petrol industry and an easier treatment of the generated waste.
We also use the Aqua-Alpha technology which consists of an extremely strong water based, non-toxic and solvent free lamination glue. It is used to laminate both inside and outside lining to the YULEX® Natural Rubber foam.
II – The stretchest, lightest & warmest YULEX® Natural Rubber to date
Their latest formula has allowed YULEX® to provide us with the stretchest, lightest and warmest foam to date and we’re confident to say that it has nothing to envy to other neoprene available on the market. They actually made it even better.
Our riders have been testing the wetsuits in all conditions, using the 4/3mm steamer up on the West Coast of South Africa during 6-hours-long sessions in extra cold water (10°C) while Lewy Finnegan used the 3/2mm during winter in Western Australia. Their feedback allowed us to precisely adapt our fitting, features and materials to create the most high-end and eco-friendly wetsuit in the bodyboarding industry.