Materials development company BLOOM, which makes flexible foams using algae harvested from freshwater sources, announced it has partnered with Carlsbad-based manufacturer Surftech to offer paddle boards with more environmentally sustainable deck pads.
BLOOM is headquartered in Mississippi, but its California operations – including its managing director, Rob Falken – are in Solana Beach.
Surftech, which makes stand-up paddle boards and surfboards, said the foam pads, which provide traction, will be on select models of paddle boards that will be available for sale globally in early 2018.
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A board made with the foam is a more environmentally sustainable option than conventional materials because some of the petroleum ingredients typically used in the manufacturing of the pad are replaced with algae, a sustainable resource.
One paddle board with BLOOM foam will return 176 gallons of clean, filtered water to the habitat from which the algae was harvested and keeps the equivalent of about 123 12-inch birthday balloons full of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, BLOOM said.
“We’re excited about our collaboration with Surftech as they are an established market leader within the paddle board industry,” Falken said. “We hope they will be a beacon for others in the industry to consider their environmental impact in all that they do.”
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The boards are scheduled to debut this week at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, a trade show in Utah.
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