Surfing’s Dirty Secret: Reflections on The Big Sea

Go have a look in your shed, garage, loft, back of your car, van, or wherever you store that wetsuit you bought...yeah, that one. The one you got when you decided to take up paddleboarding, bodyboarding, scuba, or any other water sport and ended up using it once. Maybe it wasn’t cool enough, so you bought another.

Yup, that’s the one. The one you’ve just thought about for the first time in years.

Well, guess what - we’re killing people.

Yup, you read that right. There’s no way around the facts, bud. Read on and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I’m no stranger to the idea that surfing has a carbon footprint, but The Big Sea hit harder than I expected. I went into the screening knowing the sport wasn’t perfect, but I had no idea just how deep the impact ran. What I saw left me shocked, angry, and, if I’m honest, pretty disappointed in myself for not asking more questions sooner.

The film, created by director Lewis Arnold, writer/producer Chris Nelson, and producer Demi Taylor, is a deep dive into the environmental and human cost of neoprene, the fossil fuel–based rubber used in most wetsuits. These aren’t just filmmakers—they’re surfers, journalists, and creatives with decades of experience, and their shared frustration with the industry’s apathy comes through loud and clear. What they’ve made is more than a documentary, it’s a call-out, a challenge, and a wake-up slap.

It turns out that chloroprene, the chemical used to make neoprene, is not only toxic to produce but also linked to alarming health risks, especially for communities living near production sites. The Big Sea focuses on St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana, now known as “Cancer Alley,” where the cancer risk is reportedly 50 times higher than the national average. And for what? Comfort in cold water?

What wound me up most was hearing one of the big-name brands shrug the issue off with a line that went something like, “If the numbers stack up, we’ll switch to natural rubber.” With their scale and influence, they should already be leading the change, not sitting on the fence waiting for profit margins to line up.

Smaller brands like Finisterre saw the damage, took responsibility, and made the switch to Yulex without hiding behind volume excuses. XCEL, a major name in wetsuits, has committed to using natural rubber across its entire range by 2026. Even Decathlon, hardly a niche eco-brand, already offers natural rubber wetsuits.

So if they can do it, there’s no excuse. The bigger brands aren’t unable to change, they’re just unwilling. And that should make every one of us stop and think about who we choose to back.

This hit home for me because it taps into what I’m trying to do with Surf City Cycles: build a brand that’s mindful of its impact. My two biggest passions, bikes and boards, aren’t exactly carbon-neutral hobbies, so the least I can do is try to balance things out with ethical sourcing, sustainable packaging, and supporting businesses that walk the talk. I don’t burn through two or three wetsuits a year, but when it’s time to buy again, I know where I’ll be putting my money: with brands using natural rubber, not excuses.

At the end of the film, the team hosted a Q&A. I asked whether the UK surf press would commit to only featuring wetsuits made from alternatives to traditional neoprene, or even lime-based neoprene, which has a carbon footprint six times higher. The response wasn’t surprising: the short answer was “probably not.”

So what’s my decision?

I’m going to explore the options that are out there now and in the future, and I’ll be doing my best to avoid chloroprene altogether. In much the same way, I avoid Teflon or other non-stick coatings.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a start.