Tom Wegener Surfboards Alaia Surfboard
Surfing, whilst trying to be eco-friendly, does have a problem with the way most boards are manufactured. Not the greenest process in the world.
Enter Tom Wegener from Queensland, Australia and his range of wooden boards. Not for everyone, the Alaia is made from plantation grown Paulownia, a native of China, Laos and Vietnam. The wood is suited to making surfboards because of its warp resistant properties. It is a fast growing tree and the wood sourced by Wegener is often grown organically and any unused parts of the trees are mulched and on-sold. Even the leaves are used as feed for cattle.
The boards are produced using a low energy process and only the small amounts of glue have petro-chemical properties. Everything else, like the linseed oil, gum terpentine and bees wax are natural.
The boards last longer than regular foam/glassed boards and when you finally feel the need for a new one, either hand it on or I’m sure you can come up with a few novel ways to use it rather than toss it out.
More information available at the Tom Wegener Surfboards website.
