Eco-friendly yacht, sounds like an oxymoron, right? However with all of the new “green” and eco-friendly products on the market today, crew and owners can very well reduce the negative global impact of their floating palaces. From the linens to the wash-down soap, there’s something green for every part of the boat nowadays.
New Wave Designs
Organic linens and eco-friendly countertops? It might be rare that owners and crew think about the environmental impact of their linens, but choosing eco-friendly fabrics can indeed reduce a yacht’s carbon footprint.
New Wave Designs is a fairly new yacht interior and outfitting company that caters to the needs of environmentally conscious clientele. With their eco-chic persona, New Wave’s motto is clean, current, responsible and as earth-friendly as possible.
The company takes the guesswork out of eco-shopping, with a growing list of interior products that are sustainable and recyclable. The company also has created its own line of eco-friendly bed linens made from eucalyptus wood cellulose and derived through an organic solvent. This easy-care line uses 50 percent less energy to dry, is biodegradable and is exceptionally strong, yet soft. They offer recycled glassware and bamboo products that make lovely serving options such as salad bowls or cutting boards. Rather than use marble or granite for countertops, how about recycled glass – which looks beautiful when backlit – or materials made from recycled paper and cardboard? New Wave Design offers several products that are cradle to cradle, which means they are environmentally friendly from inception to the end of their use.
If you decided to get all new linens, New Wave Design will take the old ones off your hands and recycle or donate them. They also intend on keeping a running tally of which yachts purchase the largest quantity of environmentally friendly products this year; a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the eco-charity of the owner’s and crew’s choice.
Earthy Supply
Harsh chemicals are not only damaging to the environment, but also can be harmful to the materials you use them on. This is where Earthy Supply comes in. Equipped with products to use from the bilges to the bridge, they offer eco-friendly alternatives that reduce a yacht’s environmental impact.
Founders Shelia Goddard and Maria Bendy-Sefton recently opened a new branch of Earthly Supply, Environmental Yacht Services, whose motto begs the question, “What are you leaving behind?” They present crew with knowledge and support to reduce marine pollution and a yacht’s “chemical footprint.” Environmental Yacht Services offers tutorials to educate crew on the history and impact of chemicals as well as various regulations. They will come aboard a yacht to perform an environmental assessment, during which they will speak to each department in order to help crew work together, as this is vital to being “green” on the seas. Environmental yacht services will even go over all products and procedures used on board. They will then analyze their findings to create a list of strong points as well as areas that need improvement. http://environmentalyachtservices.com/; www.earthlysupplies.com/
TRAC Ecological
TRAC Ecological’s mission is to provide innovative and environmentally friendly products for cleaning and maintenance of onboard equipment. Its Barnacle Buster is a marine growth remover that is not only cost effective, but also can be circulated safely through seawater cooling systems with TRAC’s Port-O-Flush to ensure machinery runs at its optimum potential. It’s nontoxic, biodegradable and water-soluble. TRAC’s GreenClean Boat Soap is also nontoxic and biodegradable in nature and is safe for the entire yacht. While it does not utilize harsh chemicals, the concentrated solution – of which only one capful is needed per one gallon of water – is strong enough to clean away dirt and grime. TRAC also features the eco-friendly Descaler, which will de-scale blackwater, marine toilets and other freshwater plumbing systems.
Trac-online.com
Baudoin Wash-Systems
Baudoin Wash-Systems may have some cleaning muscle most yachts might like to use. The wash system relies on the pure, filtered water to do the cleaning, with no chemicals or detergents used, making the system very environmentally friendly. It offers the TeleWashBoat, which can be rented (along with a skipper), for cleaning. The boat has a jet drive that enables it to perfectly maintain its position while you clean the hull and it comes equipped with an Aqua Force Pure Water Filter Unit, which filters tap water to eliminate lime, minerals and metals. Filtering the water also prevents streaks, the company claims – so no more need to dry surfaces after washing.
Also on board is an Aqua Heating Unit, which can heat the water to 60°C, thereby more efficiently removing heavy contamination like diesel, algae and atmospheric pollution.
Baudoin also offers the Carbo Clean Pole, which is equipped with specially developed cleaning brushes with border protection to prevent damage. The Carbo Clean system can be used on glass, teak, polyester, epoxy, coated hulls, stainless or additional metal components. www.baudoin.nl
Yacht Shine
Yacht Shine is a line of high performance, eco-responsible yacht maintenance products, all of which meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency clean boating and clean marinas guidelines. Its various products range from Marine Soap, which is all-surface safe, will not remove wax and is completely biodegradable; the nontoxic Teak Cleaner, which is ready to use and will not burn teak; and the Teak Preserver, which utilizes a water-based liquid to create a barrier between the wood and stains and pollutions that lasts for months. Yacht Shine also provides many other products including an Inflatable cleaner and Clear Bottomcoat and is committed to developing new, planet-safe products to keep yachts in pristine condition. www.yachtshine.com
NeroQom
NeroQom, the mother company of Nauticare for Superyachts, is cranking up its “green” credentials. With an eight-year history of developing environmentally friendly products and techniques, it recently completed a study on increasing the life of materials such as glass, stainless steel and paintwork on yachts. And it’s made significant improvements in cleaning, renovation and protection products that help reduce or even stop environmental pollution without jeopardizing quality.
Specialists in making glass water and dirt repellent, offering glass scratch removal at ISO 614 and Standard EN 572-2:2004 tolerance, stainless steel scratch removal and polishing, it also provides treatment to increase paint life up to three years. NeroQom’s glass renovation can remove all kinds of damage, stains and degradation – even sandblasted, coated or etched glass can be renewed, the company claims. The renovation products are pH-neutral. Now more than ever, NeroQom has declared its intentions of developing its business in a sustainable way, with a complete respect to the environment. www.Nauticare-bv.nl; www.NeroQom.com