ep. # 22 - Sustainable Surf's Michael Stewart talks ECOBOARDS and raising 17k on Kickstarter for The Deep Blue Bag

By partnering with Mafia Backpacks in San Francisco and renowned designer Yves Bahar, Michael Stewart was able to build the Deep Blue Bag out of repurposed kite sails, boat sailes, and climbing rope from Yosemite. In the process, he pulled off what many would like to pull off on Kickstarter - complete funding for his Deep Blue Bag project, allowing him to bring Deep Blue Bags to the masses next year. But there is a lot more to Michael Stewart than designing surf friendly and environmentally minded accessories. At Sustainable surf, he and his partner Kevin Whilden manage The ECOBOARD Project, a third party 'eco-label' for surfboards that are made with a measurably reduced carbon footprint when compared to more traditional materials and production methods. Sustainable Surf also helps SUGA make yoga mats out of used wetsuits. They make sandals out of tires and fishing nets in collaboration with Indo Sole. They have even partnered with the city of Malibu to turn styrofoam waste into surfboard blanks and collaborated with brands like Rip Curl to eliminate over 90% of the waste at events like the Rip Curl Search San Francisco. All this and more in this brand new episode.