B Corp brand Finisterre has today launched a Yulex rental programme in order to increase accessibility to more environmentally-friendly wetsuits.
The new wetsuits for hire offering comes through a new partnership between Finisterre and Hirestreet’s Zoa Rental platform.
Dubbed Finisterre Wetsuit Rental, the programme has been launched to make Yulex wetsuits accessible to more surfing and body-boarding enthusiasts which the retailer views as a way of supporting its environmental strategy.
“Yulex suits are a clean alternative to neoprene but they’re hard to access on a short-term basis and only make up a small proportion of the wetsuits produced by the industry,” explained Finisterre in LinkedIn post.
“By making it easier and more affordable to try a Yulex wetsuit, we hope that more people can test the performance and quality first hand, and ultimately make the switch to a more environmentally and socially responsible alternative to neoprene.”
The Yulex rental service includes free delivery, full deep-clean, and a money-back guarantee for unworn wetsuits. If people love the product after renting it, they have the option to buy it at the end of the hire period.
Bronwen Foster-Butler, chief marketing officer at Finisterre, described the event on LinkedIn as “ a big day”.
“Traditional wetsuits are made from nasty neoprene – a petrochemical-derived material that has negative environmental and social impacts,” she explained.
“We have been proudly neoprene-free since 2021, working with the amazing team at Yulex to produce a range of natural rubber wetsuits that perform just as well as the neoprene versions, but with 80% less CO2 emissions. However, buying a wetsuit is a big investment, and with 100% of rental suits made from neoprene, most surfers look for similar suits when they make their first purchase. We want to help change this.”
She added: “From today, customers can chose to either purchase or rent one of our Yulex wetsuits, helping to bring more choice to market and hopefully one day, help move the entire industry away from neoprene and towards a more natural solution.”
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
