Zeke Lau wearing Xcel’s new COMP+ wetsuit. Photo: Hunter Martinez, Willie Kessel//Xcel
Wetsuit maker Xcel recently announced it’s accelerating its plans to be neoprene-free. In a recent press release, the company stated it would be producing suits without the petrochemical a year earlier than anticipated.
As some members of the surf industry attempt to transition away from environmentally unfriendly materials, neoprene has found itself in the crosshairs. Though the material is a godsend for cold-water surfers, it’s a petrochemical produced from non-renewable fossil fuels and does not biodegrade. Even the manufacturing process can be harmful, as chloroprene, a chemical used in the production of neoprene, has been listed by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen.
In September 2023, Xcel announced its wetsuit range would be neoprene-free by 2026, which would be the final step in a path towards making eco-friendly suits. The release claimed Xcel suits were already made of 80 percent eco-friendly components at the time, with Neoprene being the last piece of the puzzle. “Over the years, we’ve been addressing [eco materials] and it’s always been at the forefront of the development phases, from glue to fabric technologies to production facilities and packaging materials,” said Xcel Head of Product Lance Varon. “We’ve checked a lot of the boxes off, so the neoprene-free would be that final box to check.”
It looks like that final box might get checked sooner than expected. In its latest press release, the company announced that the new neoprene-free wetsuits will be available from Spring 2025. “We finalized the testing of our natural neoprene-free material and are ready to launch a year earlier than planned,” said Varon. “The new wetsuits deliver the world-class performance our core surfers expect from Xcel, with great stretch, warmth and durability.”
Of course, Xcel is not the only company currently working to move away from neoprene. Patagonia has been a forerunner in the effort, having worked with Yulex to produce neoprene-free wetsuits using natural rubber since 2013. Just this month, Yulex released a new formulation of its material, dubbed Yulex 2.0, that promises superior stretch and elasticity from previous iterations. Other companies, such as Matuse, have begun using limestone-derived neoprene alternatives called “geoprene.” However, while it’s not made from petrochemicals, the sustainability of geoprene has been called into question, due to the finite nature of limestone as a resource and the environmental impact of mining.
