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A New Kind of Environmental Steward: The Ciggy Board Boys

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Two surfers removed over 4,000 cigarette butts from the beach — and used them to build a surfboard.

Each year, people discard 4.5 million cigarette butts. And lots of those make their way to our beaches and waterways. Taylor Lane and Ben Judkins — also known as the Ciggy Board boys — are doing something about it.  With the help of surfboard builder Travis Reynolds, the Ciggy Board boys are turning ordinary litter into a board, fins, and a conversation starter.

In this video, Hawaiian-native surfer Jack Johnson surfs the Ciggy Board for the first time. “Oh wow, that is rad,” Johnson said as the handmade board was unveiled. Each board is made of all upcycled materials, including the thousands of cigarette butts and upcycled foam.

“My experience with the cigarette surfboard was that it was tricky at first,” said Johnson. “But I love it. It represents taking a problem and finding out how to be part of the solution.”

Backpack, Messenger Bag made of 'Upcycled' Auto Airbags

A new venture this year by footwear giant Keen will see the company employing leftover automobile airbags to turn them into backpacks, totes, messenger bags, and wallets. We got a pre-release pack to sling on for a test. Read more…

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