Fast-Fashion Mega Retailer Primark Dips Into Wetsuit Market And The Surf Community Fumes 

Fast fashion’s forays into surf are never quite well-received by surfers.

UK-based retailer Primark — a company that boasts 400 stores across 14 countries throughout Europe and the U.S, 78K employees, 7.79 billion GDP in 2019, and is best known for cheap clothing and generally shitty attitudes towards sustainability — has been feeling the UK surf community’s wrath.

The brand recently released a ‘Great Outdoors’ collection which includes cheap wetsuits for adults and children, rashguards and changing towels. The campaign features a family of four and an ethnically diverse body-positive photoshoot — which doesn’t sound bad on paper. The problem is that the suits look more like wet trash bags than functional wetsuits. And due to their already poor reputation, the response to the campaign has been less-than-favorable.

Let’s examine: 

Real Surfing Magazine Cornwall UK took to Facebook to protest Primark’s new surf wear collection, calling it an ‘environmental disaster,’ writing, “These awful cheap throwaway wetsuits are being mass produced and will be thrown away in no time. It’s very sad that companies such as this are tapping into surf culture.”

Some members of the British surfing community agreed with the sentiment shared by Real Surfing Magazine, taking to Primark’s Instagram post featuring the wetsuits to express their anger. The comment section now features various opinions on the ethical and environmental problems with fast-fashion, as well as the production of poorly designed wetsuits. 

“Would love to know the impact these have on the ocean. Using nature’s beautiful places to make money while you RUIN IT!” wrote pro surfer and former Love Island contestant, Laura Lou Crane. 

“Oh my! 😢  more #fastfashion to be used once and then dumped in a landfill! 👎 Come on @Primark think this through!” Surfers Against Sewage London commented.

“I wouldn’t even let Putin wear one of these on a winter’s day in North Devon,” said North Devon based surfer, Jack Patching. 

The campaign also featured blue RYD boards with the word ‘PRIMARK’ painted on them. Earlier this year, Simon Nicholson, a former South African pro surfer turned distributor for RYD brand UK received an offer from an advertising agency to partner with Primark for an ‘influencer weekend.’ RYD has 5k followers on Instagram. Primark has 9.6 million. Opportunities like this don’t often come knocking. 

However, he considered that partnering with a large fast-fashion retailer might be a controversial move. Instead of participating, he agreed to sell the agency boards — and he still got caught in the crossfire. Simmo received a barrage of angry messages from members of the surf community who felt betrayed by their alignment with the controversial retailer. Here’s his take on the situation. 

“Surfers don’t give a shit about how they are perceived by the rest of the world, so the big brands try to jump in and make a big buck by exploiting the surf image to the masses,” he says. “It might damage the local surf economy in the short-term, but it does bring more awareness to the surf lifestyle. You’re never gonna stop the big brands, but in our opinion, these things always tend to work out in the favor of the surf industry in the long run.”

The main point of frustration from the UK-surf community is that selling wetsuits that are seemingly useless for actual surfing creates more waste, and pulls money away from businesses actively making sustainable choices. Others have stated that this is a class issue, and the surfer’s outraged are elitist because removing low-cost equipment would prevent people from lower socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to surf. 

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“Not willing to buy? It’s often a matter of economic choices. Not everyone can afford to purchase a £100+ wetsuit but still want to enjoy the surf. Of course we know they’re crap, but you’re coming off a tad elitist and that’s not cool,” wrote Sariah Jackson. 

“As much as I kinda get it, it’s pretty cool that people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access a sport due to the crazy costs of wetsuit is kinda cool. Surfing for all,” penned Es Po. 

“This just opens the sport for people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it. Surely that’s a good thing? If they like it and enjoy it they will progress onto the brands and custom products? I agree in the saying Surfing for All and not just the ones who can afford the kit. Ikea boards are advertising on the WSL live feed. What do you make of that?” commented Tina Louise Searle. 

We live in a world where making the sustainable choice is often the more expensive choice, which can price some out of being able to make conscious purchases. Purchasing a second-hand suit might be the better call if you’re on a tight budget, but you might not consider that option if you’ve never tried surfing before. 

“For our Great Outdoors campaign, we want to encourage more people to get outside and have fun this summer,” explained Primark when we reached out. “We know that access to appropriate clothing and equipment is a barrier for lots of people who want to take part in outdoor activities, so this new range is designed to offer technical wear at affordable prices.” They went on to state, “We’ve committed to make significant changes right across our business to reduce the impact we have on the environment and improve the lives of the people who make our clothes.” They reiterated, “We know that access to affordable, appropriate clothing and equipment is a genuine barrier to people participating in outdoor activities and we hope that this range helps more people to get outside and enjoy activities in the great outdoors.” 

Fast-fashion retailers don’t aim to sell cheap wetsuits to seasoned surfers. They are aimed at everyday landlocked folk who haven’t yet paddled out — but might if they could get a wetsuit for a cheap price. The suits are already sold out online, and Primark’s website shows that stocks are either low or sold out in most stores. An affordable introduction could turn into a lifelong love of surfing for someone who might otherwise not have tried it.

Is that a silver lining? Well, depends on who you ask…