Naish ECO PACKAGING SYSTEM

These days, packaging has become unavoidable on most products – it is necessary for protection during shipping and serves as an integral part of product presentation at a retail level. The problem is that packaging is also very wasteful, requiring lots of material that largely cannot be reused and will ultimately end up in the next dumpster.

At Naish International on Maui, we receive monthly containers of boards that we retail, deliver to team riders, or use for our ongoing R&D. Every time we unpack a container, we are left with a huge pile of debris. One day in mid 2007, we decided to do something about it.

Since the primary function of board packaging is to protect the boards that get shipped to destinations all over the planet, the solution was a hybrid system of a reusable board bag that offers added value to the end consumer, combined with a minimalist outer box and nose/tail protection made from biodegradable/recyclable cardboard. In addition to it’s long term protection for your new board, the board bag offers superior padding during shipping, and we’ve reduced our ‘throwaway’ material to a single box plus a few small pieces of cardboard.

We call it the Naish Eco packaging System, and it is just one of the many ways that Naish R&D is reaching beyond the normal objectives of better boards, sails and rig parts to create a whole new standard for what is possible, and what we can expect from a brand. It is our hope that other brands will follow, and perhaps even improve on our example with their own ideas, with the long term goal of making  windsurfing equipment not just better performing, but better for the planet we call our home.

This is just the first step – over the next few years, Naish R&D will take a close look at every aspect of our manufacturing and marketing process with an eye towards reducing waste, increasing efficiency, and building in even more value to a brand already known for making things that really work, and really last.