Skip to content
The Bureo Minnow: The First Skateboard Deck Made Out Of Upcycled Recycled Fishnets Collected Along The Coast Of Chile

Bureo Skateboards is an amazing company founded by three friends who decided there must be a way to better incorporate envirnmentally and socially concious recycling into skateboard production. With still 7 days left to go in their kickstarter campaign, they've more than double their original goal of $25,000 and are set to unleash these amazing decks on the world. Find out more about the project right here and then head over to their kickstarter page – even though they've reached their goal you can still secure yourself one of the first production decks by donating to the fund.
 


Bureo Team – Kevin, Ben and David stoked on the boards!

Launched by three friends (Ben, David, Kevin), our project was founded through a deep connection with the ocean environment. Becoming aware of the various threats to our waterways, we made it our mission to do something about ocean plastics. We started dreaming big over a year ago, and left our safe careers behind in search of solutions. Our answer was ‘Skateboards for Plastic-Free Oceans’.

After months of speaking with experts and investigating plastic pollutants in our oceans, we were struck by the large scale and harmful impact of fishnet waste. Our research showed that this material was incredibly strong to make skateboards from and highly recyclable! 

We were given an amazing opportunity to bring our idea to Chile, where we could run our whole process from fishnet collection in the coastal communities to final production in Santiago. We began work last year, establishing 'Net Positiva', our fishnet collection and recycling program. Over this time we conducted research at a plastic engineering lab and manufactured our major production tools. Now that we have ridden our prototypes and proven our supply chain in Chile, we want you to be a part of our story to support the production of our boards!    

via sustainablebrands.com

Through the Net Positiva program, Bureo has partnered with local fishing communities in Chile to collect fishing nets from the ocean. Polymer-based fishing nets comprise an estimated 10 percent of all plastic ocean waste. This can be harmful to marine animals of all sizes. These nets are then transported to a local recycling center, processed, and pelletized in order to prepare them to become the deck of the skateboard. Each skateboard uses roughly 30 square feet of harvested fishing nets. Using these fishing nets results in a more than 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gases compared to the use of traditional plastic.

The upcycled deck isn’t the only sustainably sourced aspect of the skateboard. The custom made Satori wheels are 30 percent vegetable oil with 100 percent recycled cores. Through the Kickstarter project, Bureo is also offering a special edition skateboard made out of reclaimed wood. Furthermore, all aspects of the production process have been closely linked to the company’s roots in Chile. With locally sourced labor and materials, the Chilean communities and Bureo are truly supporting each other. To follow the work that Bureo is doing in Chile, Kneppers and Stover regularly update the Bureo blog and website with many of their inspirations and insights into the new project. 

The Bureo team set a $25,000 goal in order to cover the final production costs, the cost of recycling the nets, and the initial component costs to take them down the last stretch of the first major production run for Bureo. With nine days left in the campaign, that goal that has almost been doubled; the boarding industry has always had a special link to the ocean and beach communities, and Bureo's crowdfunding success points to how the company's upcycled product idea resonates with the boarding community's inherent interest in ocean conservation. Now, there will be a great way to show that love for the environment with the most innovative deck on the market.

Check out their Kickstarter Campaign page and then find out more on the WEB and on FACEBOOK


 

Plus de contenu