YEW! vs. Them

Because YEW! surf wax is handmade in California with entirely environmentally friendly ingredients, YEW! is Your Environment’s Wax!

YEW!’s main ingredient is beeswax. It’s the perfect recipe of the best ingredients offered by Mother Nature - the stuff we should’ve been putting between our boards and toes all along.

Today’s leading surf wax brands all employ paraffin as their main “stick agent.” YEW! doesn’t. Why does this matter?

Paraffin is a colorless, waxy substance composed of hydrocarbon molecules derived from petroleum or shale oil. In its “purest” form, paraffin is a grayish sludge that undergoes an extensive refinement process that includes a heavy treatment of 100% bleach. The end result of this process, which is a highly flammable substance that releases toxic fumes when burned, is found in a wide array of mass-produced goods: candles, beauty products, grease solvents, and hydraulic fluids, to name a few. It has also been used heavily in the surf wax industry for decades; after all, it’s cheap and sticky.

In recent years, however, research on the environmental impact of petroleum byproducts has made it all too clear that consumers of paraffin-based goods have been doing our planet a huge disservice. Not only does the nature of its source make paraffin entirely unsustainable, in cases such as paraffin-based surf wax, it is actively hurting our planet. Whether you’re a casual surfer who only waxes up a couple times per season, or you’re a year-round wave fanatic with a quiver of freshly waxed boards, a significant amount of whatever wax you use is inevitably going to end up in the ocean. Each and every time you take advantage of one of Mother Nature’s most incredible opportunities by going for a surf on a paraffin-waxed board, you are leaving behind a trail of chemicals that are not only unsustainable, but also bring direct harm to the ocean’s delicate ecosystems and to the billions of organisms that call it home.

Until enough awareness is raised and worldwide priorities are shifted, petroleum-based products will continue to be used on a large scale for many years to come. We can't expect an abrupt end to this environmental epidemic, but what we can do is create waves of change within our own communities. YEW! encourages everyone to be responsible and apply this knowledge about our environment by applying the right wax. Surfing has always been about complete harmony between mankind and the ocean, and it is our mission to keep it that way.

Small changes lead to big changes. Make the positive choice.

Do It Clean with YEW!