Rainy days are a rare sight to see in Tarifa but today was one of those rare occasions. I took this opportunity to cozy up with a coffee and enjoy some time to myself, reflecting on the challanges the watersport industry is currently facing and how we can tackle them.
It was about time I put some ideas on paper and envisioned how I, as the Brand Manager of Onix Foils, could see the watersports industry evolving in the face of our current climate crisis. In this article I will present our vision with Onix and our concrete actions that are currently bringing this vision to life.
I) My journey into the watersports industry
At 27, I realized my dream of founding ONIX Foils. I started the business with my buisiness partner Ian Avera in Tarifa. Despite starting from scratch I invested significant time and energy to create a business that was not soley driven by financial motives but, by aligning my core values with my industry experience.
My journey began as a teenage sailor and windsurfer, competing nationally and gaining a professional teaching certification. A gap year at Starboard's Bangkok headquarters broadened my perspective on the role of engineering in improving the industry, especially amid the challenges of COVID during the rise of wing foiling. Over three years at ONIX, I've engaged in all aspects from design to sales, also contributing to the Global Wingsports Association (GWA) as both a rider and judge, providing me with a comprehensive understanding of the watersport sector.
2) What challenges are the watersports industry currently facing, and why is it considered unsustainable?
Research & Development
R&D practices in the industry are often suboptimal, lacking efficiency, speed, quality, coherence, and most importantly, sustainability. Typically, gear is not designed, developed, and tested in the same location. Prototypes are usually produced in Asia and sent to riders in Europe or America for testing, a process that has persisted for decades. This disjointed approach raises concerns about efficiency, carbon footprint, and the geographical optimization of the development process, especially considering the significant distances involved, up to 10,000 kilometers per journey. This is particularly pronounced for foils, which require precision not always achieved in separate locations for design, manufacturing, and testing.
Production
Seventy-five percent of brands use several middlemen to get their products to customers. The typical distribution chain includes dealers (from one or a few countries), commercial agents, and retail shops. While making products in Asia keeps material and labor costs low, transporting them to dealers and then to shops adds more and more expenses. Each part of the chain needs to make enough money to cover their costs, including higher "European" salaries. This long process creates many problems for both customers and the brand:
Product quality is often assessed by producers rather than designers, leading to discrepancies between intended and actual production. Rushing lamination can cause delamination and internal weaknesses in composites. Consistency is vital for product integrity, emphasizing the need for meticulous attention to detail.
The distance betweeen the production site and the customer is unsustainable. It's very difficult to transport equipment back and fourth between a customer who wants to return a physical part for warranty or get it repaired.
Large scale production also means that it's a challenge for the customer to find tailored equipment for his level. Customization is simply not possible. The shoe industry exemplifies this issue well. It's evident that everyone's foot fits different, highlighting the impossibility of a single model fitting the entire population.
As a result, products often can't be returned for repairs or refurbishment. Instead, they often end up broken or stored in garages, becoming obsolete once the new yearly models are released. In better scenarios, they are sold second-hand through social media or retailers. Returning gear to the producer becomes economically unfeasible due to distances or large quantities involved.
Marketing Mass Consumption
Product marketing campaigns often take place in far-off locations, far from where the riders live and where the gear is produced. Many of the riders involved in these campaigns come from distant places like New Caledonia or Tahiti. Flying the riders, equipment and media team to the shooting locations creates significant expenses and carbon emissions.
Social media marketing tools used by watersport brands are designed to drive maximum consumerism, encouraging people to constantly buy the latest and newest equipment. However, brands put little effort into educating customers about how the equipment is made or providing tips on how to make it last longer.
We can also question the decision to prioritize "negative" influencers (those who promote harmful societal values, such as the idea that success means constantly traveling, taking numerous flights, having fun all the time, or focusing solely on physical appearance) over positive influencers who care about the environment and share their passion with local communities.
In an ideal world it should be considered as important to educate the customers with positive values: Respect the environment, Respect the people you love, and upcycle as much as possible to reduce wastage.
No Room For Smaller Brands?
Since most brands outsource production, they focus heavily on selling, which leads to large marketing expenses that smaller brands can't compete with. As a result, even if a customer wants to support a local shaper or supplier, they may struggle to find one because the media and shops push the idea that only a few big brands can deliver the products they're looking for. In other words, it's a strong push from larger companies to dominate visibility, making customers believe that only these options are worth considering
How are the brands responding to these issues ?
Many brands, reflecting broader societal trends, opt to address environmental issues through initiatives like tree planting and trash collection, which are commendable. However, tackling the issue at its core by producing only what is precisely demanded to minimize excess gear remains elusive. The prevailing economic model prioritizes continuous production to sustain income, making it impractical to reduce production quantities and optimize product upcycling. This approach fails to address the root of the problem and is incompatible with a forward-thinking approach needed for a truly sustainable future.
When we put all the elements togethers, we can clearly identify that the whole system is promoting and unhealthy and unstainable future. It's damaging the playground that watersports people love most. The watersport industry is no anonmaly to mass consumption and somethign needs to change.
II) What are ONIX’s goals and why are we different ?
Our goal is to try and solve these problems that have been exposed. We want to offer local production, local suppliers and materials, whilst shortening the chain between customer and supplier.
We are currently based in Tarifa, the mecca of watersports. By setting our office and production center in Tarifa, we are statistically as close as possible from the biggest demand of gear in Europe. Indeed nearly all water-sport enthusiasts visit Tarifa to experience incredibly reliable wind conditions and epic landscapes in Andalucia.
Sustainable R&D
We handle the production, design, development, testing, modification, and marketing of our equipment all in one place, significantly shortening the chain between the product and the consumer.
This means we are able to develop a new product in about 2 weeks and it can be ready for international market in less than a month.
We utilize advanced engineering software, 3D printing with bio-sourced materials, and CNC-machined wooden molds to develop our prototypes. The designer is directly involved in creating the prototype, which adds significant value when developing high-end tech gear.
We only introduce new products if they address genuine needs of our customers through our daily interactions with them in Tarifa. Rather than releasing a new model every year, our focus is on making continuous improvements to ensure our offerings closely align with customer demands.
Concrete example: our latest 145cm2 stabilizer; We started to design it 2 weeks before this picture.
Marketing
Once our riders have tested the product, we begin the marketing process. To maintain a local focus, we conduct our photoshoots right in our own backyard. Andalucía provides the ideal landscape and conditions for capturing our riders in action. Additionally, we select riders who are based in Tarifa.
On demand, customized high quality production
Once the product is ready to be produced, we simply develop a few tools to monitor the production with our printers and engineers. Most of all we don’t build necessary stock and we actually function on demand, which means that all the parts are produced for someone already interested to buy it. A direct consequence is the possibility to customize the construction and graphics. We offer the customer the products that matches his level and the way we pushed the gear by modifying the layup if there is a need for added stiffness or weight.
The way we produce the parts makes it easy to change graphics as we use our CNC laser to cut stencils to paint the parts using logos provided by the customers.
Materials are high quality and suppliers are as close as possible. We use wood whenever possible; Replacing incredibly polluting aluminium molds and foam cores by playing with the different type of woods to making strong molds and light cores. Our resin comes from France and carbon from Germany while our bio sourced filament comes from Austria.
The gear is made by local workers / interns coming from European schools, but the most critical parts of the production are made by the designer. This means that every product that comes out of our workshop having been designed, built (partially)and approved by the same person.
This provides a significant increase in the quality of production.
Local partners & local community
We have teamed up with various local collaborators to maximize our range of locally-made products. Our goal is to generate benefits and create jobs not at the expense of our neighbors, but by providing them with more opportunities and income.
Covers are made 100m away from the shop by our friend Kuba, an experienced sale maker.
Boars are offered in 2 different constructions by local famous shapers Alex from Tarifa Foil Boards and Francis from Bilboa.
Riders and video makers taking part of the shootings are local people.
We buy our day to day production goods in shops than are located less than 200m away from the office.
We work with local schools such as International school of Sottogrande to share our values and knowledge to our youth by inviting them to workshops.
Connecting the Brand with the Customer
When possible, each customer is invited to build their product with us, especially the lamination part that can be made easily together with one of our experienced laminators. This enables people to understand what is inside the product, what costs and efforts it takes to create such a high tech item and its value. It also provides people the opportunity to understand what goes on behind the scene when making the product. It's a truly authentic and fufuilling feeling when riding knowing that you are supporting a brand that cares about our oceans.
ONIX Exchange Program - Upsycling and Reconditioning
Due to our product being made close to the customer. It has been possible to run Onix Echange Program.
The concept is straightforward. When you purchase gear, you have the option to buy it brand new (first life) or reconditioned at a lower cost. If your equipment gets damaged but is still repairable, you can send it back to us for repairs, which we’ll complete in less than two weeks and at minimal cost. When you decide to upgrade because your skill level has improved, we offer to buy back your old gear and provide you with a new set at a discounted price equivalent to the value we paid for the returned gear.
The better condition it gives it back, the bigger is the discount. This means customer is directly responsible of taking good care of his gear in order to get the biggest discount as possible. It’s a win-win.
When a customer returns their old foil to us, we recondition it to make it as close to new as possible. Given the high quality and durability of our products, it’s easy to maximize their extended lifespan.
III) What does the future hold for Onix?
Looking ahead, Onix envisions a future where the market operates with a limited number of parts and gear circulating among customers. In this model, the brand would increasingly focus on dealing and repairing rather than producing new parts, while still remaining profitable. This approach contrasts sharply with the current industry model, which has been described as self-destructive for many brands.
Local production is a keyword for Onix and we want to continue building a closer relationship between our community and Onix. This entails hiring and training more local people, working with other manufacturing companies that are based in our area, and supporting local talent and connecting customers with the final product.
III) Conclusion
David vs. Goliath, Overconsumption vs. Local Production: Should we continue addressing problems only after they arise, or should we tackle the root causes directly? ONIX is more than just a brand; it represents a project and a call for societal reform. Our values need to shift, and we must recognize that supporting local businesses benefits not only our immediate communities but ourselves as well. This idea resonates with many religious teachings, which emphasize that giving brings more joy than receiving. Our concept promotes taking care of ourselves and the planet. While we're not perfect, if every business adopted these principles to even 50% of the extent, many of the world's issues could be significantly reduced.
Author: Sam Carentz
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