MANERA X CIRCULAR FLOW
To slide across the surface of a wave and leaving only a wake behind are unmatched feelings.
However, the traditional methods of producing or discarding the gear we need can be more impactful on the planet than the way we use it. As a wetsuit manufacturer, we are constantly looking for new ways to offer an increasingly sustainable product with each collection, without sacrificing quality or performance, and to find solutions once it has run its course.
At MANERA, we believe the best way to be eco-friendly is to create durable products. We want our gear to last for years, and to guarantee quality and performance overtime.
However, as much as we’d like, wetsuits can’t last forever. They gradually wear out overtime and have essentially nowhere to go once they reach the end of their lives.
Consequently, millions of old or unusable wetsuits lie in landfills each year. On top of that, wetsuits and other neoprene products have been extremely hard to recycle, until now.
HOW?
GEORGI MARINOV, the founder of Circular Flow, wanted to find a way to provide a solution to recycle neoprene residuals, and then to recycle them again and again.
Over the past six years, the Circular Flow initiative has developed new technology and manufacturing processes that bonds the particles from shredded wetsuits without removing the textile laminate. In turn, it produces a neoprene sheet, a stable and durable recycled material capable of being used to manufacture a wide range of new products.
Circular Flow’s technology and manufacturing processes mean that they can:
. Process 100% of the returned neoprene items, which includes zips and plastic elements.
. Create recycled neoprene sheets 100% fit for manufacturing new neoprene items
. Manufacture items.
. Add unique batch numbers to each item and a QR code that will be able to track the new product.
. Accept the recycled product back for recycling up to seven times, which can extend the life of an item from on average 2 to over 20 years.
This is a full-scale recycling process with zero waste and zero use of water – another first for the industry.
OUR GOALS
This new partnership hopes to address the neoprene waste problem by collecting wetsuits and neoprene items at local shops to then turn them into new and useful neoprene products.
As a first step, we are launching this recycling program in select shops around France.
Our goal is to collect and recycle between 2 000 and 2 500 wetsuits in 2023.
Down the road, our main objective is to achieve neutrality and recycle as many wetsuits as we produce.
If our initiative in France is successful and our initial goals are met, we will expand it to shops around the world. We are ecstatic to introduce and test this groundbreaking recycling program into our community.
Please note that this initiative is only available in France (for now!).
If you are located in France and interested in participating, please head over to MANERA for more information.
