Ditch Disposable Plastic Bags,
Chemical Soaps & Conditioners
For decades, surfers and divers relied on plastic grocery bags or dumped hair conditioners, baby shampoos, and petroleum lube into tight neoprene. Gliders™ replace marine plastic pollution and chemical runoff with a 100% dry, permanent, washable sliding solution.
Protecting Marine Life From Single-Use Bags
Why plastic grocery bag hacks damage fragile coastal ecosystems and sea turtles.
How Grocery Bags Harm Coastal Ecosystems
Water sports athletes frequently slip their feet into thin, single-use plastic grocery bags to overcome wetsuit friction. On windy beaches, boat decks, or parking lots, these flimsy bags easily tear, blow away, or get left behind.
- Marine Life Threat: Plastic bags floating in seawater mimic jellyfish—the primary food source for endangered sea turtles.
- Microplastic Degradation: Shredded bag fragments enter coastal tidal zones and break down into toxic microplastics.
- Single-Use Waste: A surfer taking two sessions a week discards over 200 plastic bags every single year.
Engineered For Lifetime Reuse
Gliders™ are permanently crafted from high-tenacity, mechanical heat-rolled marine polyamide. They never rip during donning, rinse clean with fresh water, and are built to endure hundreds of sessions.
- Zero Plastic Waste: One pair of Gliders replaces hundreds of disposable plastic bags forever.
- Secure Flat-Packing: Stows safely inside your kit bag without littering parking lots or beach shores.
- Durable Construction: Heavy-duty marine stitching and reinforced eyelet flap resist tearing.
The Environmental & Health Harm of Hair Conditioners & Soaps
Why squirting hair conditioner, dish soap, or petroleum into your wetsuit damages marine life, skin, and neoprene.
Cationic Surfactants & Quats
Hair conditioners contain quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats) such as Behentrimonium Chloride and Cetrimonium Chloride. These positively charged chemicals bind tightly to skin and fabric for smoothness—but when rinsed into the ocean, they are highly toxic to fish gills, micro-algae, and aquatic invertebrates, even at trace levels (μg/L).
Silicones & Petroleum Oils
Conditioners use non-biodegradable silicones (Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone) that persist in marine sediments. Petroleum jellies and mineral oils form slick surface films on water. Furthermore, petroleum and oil residues chemically break down blind-stitched neoprene seam glue, causing expensive suits to rot, delaminate, and smell bad.
Skin Permeation & Irritation
When warm inside a tight neoprene suit for 2–4 hours, skin pores open. Synthetic fragrances, preservatives (parabens, MIT/CMIT), and dish soaps strip skin of natural oils, leading to severe contact dermatitis, rashes, and chemical absorption directly into your skin.
Wetsuit Entry Method Comparison
| Entry Method | Ocean Impact | Neoprene Seam Life | Skin Health | Friction Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair Conditioner / Soaps | Toxic quats & silicones pollute water & coral | Degrades glue & feeds bacteria | Strips oils, causes dermatitis & rashes | Slippery when wet |
| Plastic Grocery Bags | Rips, creates microplastics, harms sea turtles | Uneven yanking stretches cuff seams | Safe (inert plastic) | Rips on 5mm+ suits |
| ✓ Gliders™ System | 100% Zero Chemical Runoff | Zero Residue; Preserves Seams | 100% Dry & Safe | -91% Drag (μ = 0.05) |
Plastic Reduction Calculator
Slide to select your weekly water sessions and calculate how many plastic grocery bags you keep out of the ocean.
Join the Plastic & Chemical-Free Movement
Get your complete 3-piece Gliders™ kit and make single-use grocery bags and messy conditioners a thing of the past.