This fin made by Shaka Surf was constructed with recycled plastic bottle caps. Photo: Shaka Surf
There are undoubtedly trillions of pieces of plastic floating in our oceans, all of which never fully break down and eventually work their way into our food chain in the form of microplastics. This has led to many Eco-conscious people and businesses searching for ways to repurpose that plastic in an effort to clean up our planet and oceans. For the people at Shaka Surf, that came with the realization that there were enough bottle caps floating around to produce a very funky and Eco-friendly surfboard fin.
Dominick Taylor, the man behind it all, says, “We’re taking plastics out of the ocean and putting them to better use. I think that most surfers and non-surfers alike appreciate what we do.”
The Shaka Surf nine-inch eco single fin uses approximately 70 plastic caps, while their medium G5 high-performance fins use approximately 50 plastic caps in their fabrication. They’ve created a range of fins for longboards, SUPs, single fins, retro shapes, cosmic cruisers, and high-performance thrusters with FCS, FCS2, and Futures applications.
“To be a surfer is, on the one hand, a very selfish pursuit,” says Taylor. “It often means you’re going to let down people close to you because you want to go surf good waves at the drop of a hat. On the other hand, I think most surfers have some level of environmental awareness and will do their best to be good custodians of Mother Earth. So for me, being a surfer is about surfing when there are good waves and trying to give back a little whenever I can.”
As well as recycling waste materials and plastics to make their recycled fins, Shaka Surf also wanted to create a standout design. So they enlisted the help of a street artist to come up with a unique aesthetic. This led to the development of the Swell Lines Collection, paying homage to surfing culture and oceanography.
