The New "Green" Billabong
As one of the world's leading makers of surf clothing and gear, Australia's Billabong also wants to be known as a friend of the environment; especially to the oceans that provide the playground for the majority of the company's customers. To that end, the company introduced a new line of clothing in 2008 under the name Eco Collection. They followed up in 2010 with the introduction of the new Rasta Collection.
The Eco line is named for the primary fabric used to make the clothing, ECO Supreme Suede. ECO Supreme Suede is produced from a combination of recycled polyester and rPET, a material that comes from recycled plastic bottles. Billabong claims the suede is high in quality while still being eco-friendly. The Eco line began with board shorts and swimsuits and has since been expanded to include t-shirts, hats, and hoodies. Organic cotton is also being used now as an additional material in the Eco program.
The Eco line is part of a broader company project to reduce the impact its manufacturing process has on the environment, while still creating eco-friendly clothing. With an average ten plastic bottles being needed to create a single pair of board shorts, Billabong is saving a lot of landfill space that the discarded bottles would otherwise fill. The company's wetsuit division joined the movement in 2010 when it introduced its first eco-friendly offering, the B9 Eco line. The B9 wetsuit is made primarily of recycled polyester and uses water-based inks which are friendly to the oceans.
In 2010 Billabong freesurfer Dave Rastovich lent his name to the company's new Rasta line in a project to help provide financial support for efforts to protect the world's oceans. Rastovich explained the program during a 2008 interview by saying, "When it comes down to it, if you have an option to buy a pair of board shorts that are actually lessoning our impact on the world we live in, the choice is simple."
The line includes the name of Surfers for Cetaceans (S4C) in its marketing, and in return, donates a certain portion of the profits to the organization. S4C is a collaboration of surfers from all over the world who provide a voice for the protection of whales, dolphins, and the world's oceans in general.
With two pairs of board shorts, a t-shirt, and ball cap currently in the new S4C line, Billabong clothing continues its research and development to further the company's green goals and support S4C. We'll have to wait and see what new items will be added to the Rasta collection for 2011.