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Miami Swim Show 2009

The Miami Swim Show 2009 occured July 19-22 in Miami Beach, Florida, and Surf Expo was on hand to witness it all.
07/23/2008

Travels With Fish: Rehoboth, Delaware

Surf Expo Buyer Relations Manager Steven Fisher wraps up his road trip with stops at Quiet Storm, Sierra Moon, Liquid, and Dewey Beach Surf Shop to find out what's selling now.
07/19/2008

Travels With Fish: Ocean City, Maryland

Surf Expo Buyer Relations Manager Steven Fisher visits Chauncey's Surf Shop, K-Coast, Endless Summer, and Cloudbreak in Ocean City, Maryland on July 16, 2008. Here's his daily report.
07/17/2008

Travels With Fish: Virginia Beach Day 2

Surf Expo Buyer Relations Manager Steven Fisher visits Corner24, Hotline Surf Shop, RK's, Whalebone, and WRV during his second day on the road in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
07/16/2008

Travels With Fish: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Surf Expo Buyer Relations Manager Steven Fisher visits Freedom Surf Shop, Seventeenth Street Surf Shop, and Coastal Edge in Virginia Beach on July 14, 2008. Here's the view from the retail trenches.
07/15/2008

Surf Expo Shifts Show Dates To Serve Industry Needs

The January 2009 edition of Surf Expo will open one day earlier and will close on Saturday, January 17, instead of the traditional Sunday close.
07/10/2008

How to Select and Train Your Booth Staff

Somehow show logistics hog our time and resources, and when it comes to staff training, it gets buried in a pile of undone “to-do’s”. But nothing pays off in qualified leads and positive company image as well as a well-trained staff!
07/08/2008

AWSI Introduces Co-Executive Directors At 2nd Annual Meeting

The Second Annual Association of Wind Sport Industries symposium was held at Hood River, Oregon, this past weekend. Top order of business was to introduce the two new Co-Executive Directors to the group for the upcoming year, Tonia Farman and Katie Crafts.
07/03/2008

Sector 9 Acquired By Billabong

Paul Naude, head of Billabong’s North American operation says, “Sector 9’s innovative skateboard design has positioned the company as the market leader in this hardgoods niche and makes them a great addition to our strong portfolio of boardsports brands.”
07/01/2008

Pivotal Trestles Toll Road Meeting To Occur July 25

Should the Secretary of Commerce uphold the California Coastal Comission's permit denial decision, the toll road extension through San Onofre State Park will be effectively dead in its tracks! As such, The Surfrider Foundation is hoping to drive as many people as it can to the hearing.
06/30/2008



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SIMA Hosts Green Boot Camp On Earth Day



About 50 surf industry executives gathered at the Ocean Institute on Earth Day, April 22, to hear from experts on how they can incorporate sustainability and green practices into their businesses—and why it makes dollars and sense.

Ocean Institute Executive Vice President Harry Helling set the tone well with his opening remarks, commending the attendees for stepping up today for benefits that our children will enjoy: “Your industry is big enough to have an impact and big enough to serve as a role model to show that business and the environment are not mutually exclusive.”

This thought was followed up by Bob Kloefer, a principal partner and head of Environmental Resource Management’s global manufacturing/retail sector. Kloefer noted that major companies such as Honda, Alcan, S.C. Johnson, Goldman Sachs, and Nike have rolled out significant green initiatives that garnered positive press and helped business.

He also outlined three environemental epochs: the regulation era of 1972 to 1990 when some companies stopped doing “bad things” and instituted management systems, the Accountability era of 1992 to 2001 when companies tried to “do good” but were transparent and forthright about their actions regardless of their practices, and finally the Sustainability era where companies are part of the solution or they are left behind by their customers. This era started in 2005 and continues today.

“It’s now more about the customers--and the CEOs set the tone,” says Kloefer, who noted a variety of factors driving the greening of business including: customers, investors, reputational, regulatory, employee, and responsibility. “Remember outsourcing the dirty parts of your business is not a solution,” he says. “Your source’s impacts are your impacts.”

Action sports vet Mark Machado took the stage next for an exhaustive analysis of green product sourcing. Machado, who is the founder of the design development and sourcing company The Grid, spent most of his time talking about organic cotton. Parts of his talk were especially eye opening, like how traditionally grown cotton is the single most harmful agricultural product in the world.

The concept of “green washing” was also covered, a practice where brands hype superficial environmental initiatives while ignoring the most harmful parts of their business: “It is my belief that green wash marketing is not only shallow and transparent, it's also very dangerous: peripheral product groupings outside the core product line, over priced and in-your-face green branding are big targets for environmental watch dog groups, and super-transparent lame excuses that customers see straight through.”

The highlight of the day, however, was Roian Atwood, Sole Technology’s manager of environmental affairs.

As the first ever environmental specialist for the action-sports industry, Atwood has coordinated and implemented a broad range of projects for Sole Technology including PV solar system arrays totaling over 300kw, supply chain development to integrate the use of alternative and sustainable fibers, the implementation of a waste management program for T-shirt manufacturing, and the use of alternative fuels, namely biodiesel, for company fleets.

Echoing the environmental commitment of Sole Technology CEO Pierre Andre Senizergues, Atwood displayed intelligence, wit, and a depth of understanding that clearly illustrated the company’s leadership position in the green movement. Clearly, it would be awesome if every company had someone like Atwood on staff.

Hopefully, events like the SIMA Green Boot camp—and the changes it highlighted—will put us on the path to making that a reality.

 The beautiful Ocean Institute


 The beach out front and Dan Point

 

 Sima's Sean Smith with Reef Cofounder Santiago Aguerre

 

 The crowd has lunch before all the talking begins.

 

 SIMA Executive Director Sean Smith welcomes the crowd.

 

 Ocean Insitute EVP Henry Helling

 

 Bob Kloepfer

 

 The crowd -- and what a great place for a meeting.

 

 Mark Machado talks cotton.

 

 Sole Technology's Roian Atwood.

 
Author: Sean Obrien
 
 
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  press releases
 

Slater Shows Complete Dominance of 2008 WCT Dream Tour

“I think if Kelly wins another event, the race for the ASP World Title will be pretty much over," says Mick Fanning, last year's ASP champ.
07/24/2008

Back-To-School Spending Expected To Top $20 Billion

The survey found that the average family with school-aged children will spend $594.24 on back-to-school purchases, compared to $563.49 last year.
07/24/2008

Rip Curl Adds Timmy Turner To The Team

Revered for his award-winning film, 'Second Thoughts' which won the 2004 Surfer Poll "Movie of the Year", Timmy plans to continue his lifelong quest to find waves of absolute perfection, while documenting his adventures.
07/24/2008

Dakine Debuts Project Blue Recycled Surf Packs For Spring 2009

Each gender-specific pack, the Oceana for girls and Recon for guys, is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles with partial proceeds benefiting The Surfrider Foundation.
07/23/2008

Foam Magazine Goes Social with Community On The Loop'd Network

Foam Magazine, the leading, beach-oriented, lifestyle and fashion magazine, and Loop'd Network™, the leading social network for action sports and youth culture, today launched the PiperGirls online community at pipergirls.com.
07/23/2008

Dubna, Russia, To Make History In Kicking Off 2008 Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup Series

Having successfully completed 21 World Cup Stops to date, the 2008 season contains the most exotic line-up of venues to date.
07/23/2008

Volcom Buys Laguna Surf & Sport

The stores will continue to operate under the same name and experienced retail team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
07/22/2008

Liquid Nation Ball 5 Tickets Go On Sale

The SIMA Humanitarian Fund is proud to announce that tickets for Liquid Nation Ball 5, set for Friday, September 5, 2008, are officially on sale now.
07/22/2008

Is Ryan Sheckler A Sell Out?

New ESPN Magazine cover story delves into the rising fame and fortune of skater Ryan Sheckler.
07/16/2008

Maloof Money Cup Draws Top Skaters With Biggest Contest Purse Ever

Including three professional U.S. Championship Competitions, the Maloof Money Cup featured the largest purse in the history of professional skateboarding with more than $450,000 in prize money.
07/16/2008

VF Corp Outdoor Revenues Zoom Up 17%

VF Announces Record Second Quarter Revenues and EPS; Raises Full Year 2008 EPS Guidance and Declares Dividend. The North Face remains red hot.
07/15/2008

Taylor Knox Makes History at the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay

Veteran ASP World Tour campaigner Taylor Knox (Carlsbad, CA) posted the highest combined heat score in Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay history with a near flawless 19.70 out of possible 20 points.
07/15/2008



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