If not, then we should be!  And we have some great project BLUE gear in it for you too (some that even appeals to non-surfers).

Want to enter?  Here’s how to make it happen:

- Suggest as many Friends as you want to become a Fan of project BLUE

- Take a screen shot, so we know how many you’re sending our way (crop out your friends if you want – we just want to see the #)

- Post the shot to our page as a comment by November 18, 11:59 pm, PST

The person with the most referrals gets Electric Charge sunglasses, a Nixon Outsider Tide Watch & Trooper Headphones and a Vote the Ocean shirt! Second & third place also get shirts.

US shipping only (sorry to our friends outside the US).

As an industry, we sell aspiration.  People across the world, many of whom have never stepped foot on a surfboard, proudly wear our industry’s apparel adorned with logos, a testament to the desire to share the experience of surfing and become a part of our ocean tribe. This is why many of us were drawn into this lifestyle and some have even come to make their livelihood.

What would happen if there was no beach culture?  Or the beach simply became inhospitable? If the restrooms were locked up, showers turned off, parking lots closed and basic maintenance stopped…would the beach be such a fun place to take our families or share waves with our friends? Take away the experience out of the water and what happens to our culture?  What happens to our industry?

One of project BLUE’s mantras is that our oceans, waves and beaches need our help.  Typically we say that from an environmental standpoint, but in California, it’s also a political and financial one as well.  Proposition 21 can help change that.

Our state parks are underfunded.  Why does that matter to surfers and the surf industry?  Of the 278 state parks, 64 are beaches.  In 2007-2008, seven of the 10 most popular state parks were beaches and comprised nearly 25 percent of the annual attendance for the entire state park system.  In 2009, almost 150 state parks and beaches were shut down part-time or suffered deep service reductions because of budget cuts.

Gross underfunding is starving state parks and beaches, causing them to fall severely behind in both maintenance and services.

Prop. 21, slated for the November 2^nd California ballot, will establish a dedicated and reliable funding stream for state parks and natural resources to ensure they can be enjoyed for years to come.  In exchange for an $18 addition to the annual vehicle license fee, you’ll receive free year-round day-use admission to California’s state parks and beaches.  Bathrooms will be open, repairs will be made and waves will be accessible.

Just as our tribe motivated for the “Save Trestles” campaign, we need to come together again to protect the beaches that make up California’s state park system.

If you live in California and you surf, look hard at Prop. 21 on November 2^nd and decide for yourself.  Don’t take my word for it, check out www.yesforstateparks.com for more information.

Remember, without surf culture, we won’t have a surf industry.  On November 2^nd remember to Vote the Ocean.

This video we found on Lifehacker gives just one reason why you should.

Click the link to see the video on LifeHacker

]]> http://betruetoblue.com/go/archives/1840/feed 0 http://betruetoblue.com/go/archives/1831 http://betruetoblue.com/go/archives/1831#comments Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:55:40 +0000 http://betruetoblue.com/go/?p=1831 One of the great things about project BLUE is the diversity of the lineup.  When it’s time to upgrade some worn-out gear, there are a lot of options to choose from by each partner and in many cases, they change season after season.

When it comes to our friends at Electric, they’ve really got it going on.

A partner since the beginning, ALL of Electric’s polarized sunglasses – not some, not just a few, not half or 75 percent – ALL of Electric’s polarized sunglasses, are a part of the project BLUE line-up.

What does that mean for you?  Well, it means that you, your best friend, your younger sibling and somewhere around 50 of your not so closest friends can rock Electric sunglasses that support project BLUE at the same time, without looking like you’re all wearing the same kit.

So when it’s time to upgrade, head on over to Electric’s polarized section and choose something good.  Chances are you won’t look like anyone else (and as a bonus, you’ll be helping to keep the oceans and beaches clean too).

One of the guys in our office works off an early edition Macbook Pro, which tends to get really, really hot, which then causes the fan to run almost constantly.  Instead of buying a stand for it, he created a cool little platform for his laptop out of wine corks… and it only took him about five minutes (not counting drinking the wine .

Here’s how he did it:

1. Collect three corks.  Not too hard.  If you don’t drink wine, just hit up a local restaurant, they should have a few hundred.

2. Cut them semi-precisely, at an angle, so they wouldn’t roll away.  No special tools required, he just used a normal kitchen knife.  Drawing a line in advance helps keep things uniform.  Try to make the angles close to the same size, but they don’t have to be exact.

3. Place two in the back corners of your laptop and one in the front center.

See, not too hard!  It took us longer to take the photos and type this up than it did to make the stand.

Now here’s your challenge: What do you / can you do to easily re-purpose something that’s worn out or and use it for a different situation?

Post your idea AND a picture of it on our Facebook wall before October 1, 11:59 pm PST.  The first five posters (remember – idea AND picture) will receive one of our limited edition Vote the Ocean t-shirts.  Our favorite post will win a special edition Nixon Outsider Tide watch.

And we do.  But sometimes, for whatever reason, you need to print.  Then what?  Well, in our office, we’ve been feeding things that are non-confidential back into the printer for use again.

Simple, right?  We thought so, and it turns out the fine folks @ Re-Nest think so as well.  Check out this awesome post by them here.

Twice in the past two years, state parks were on the brink of being shut down. Last year, nearly 150 state parks were shut down part?time or suffered deep service reductions because of budget cuts, and more park closure proposals and budget cuts are expected this year.
That is why Prop. 21, slated for the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, will create the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund.

Find out more @ www.yesforstateparks.com and while you’re at it, why not follow our friends from Vote the Ocean on Twitter too?

It’s a site that helps you keep it Earth friendly, without sacrificing style.  We like that idea a lot.

Check out the great piece they did on project BLUE here and maybe you can win a great backpack, courtesy of our friends @ DAKINE.  http://www.ecosalon.com/riding-the-waves-for-the-environment/

April 6, 2010 – San Clemente, CA: project BLUE, the initiative established to raise funds in support of ocean and beach protection, is happy to announce that their program will be expanding to include the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Environmental Fund. Project BLUE is a collaboration between leading and competitive brands in the surf industry, where a portion of the proceeds from products sold under the initiative will go to support the 19 non-profit organizations supported by the SIMA Environmental Fund, all of whom share a common mission in the protection of our coastal waters.  The brands currently in the project BLUE family include Billabong, DAKINE, Electric, Famous Wax, Nixon and O’Neill.

Through previous efforts, project BLUE has donated more than $140,000 to the Surfrider Foundation to support its mission to protect our oceans, waves and beaches.  As an existing beneficiary of the SIMA Environmental Fund, Surfrider will continue to receive support from project BLUE’s efforts.

“Thanks to the support of the surf industry, over the past 21 years the SIMA Environmental Fund has donated more than $5 million to non-profit environmental organizations whose efforts are focused on enhancing the oceanic environment,” said Paul Naude, SIMA Environmental Fund Board President.  “Through this new partnership with project BLUE, we’ll be able to further support these beneficiary organizations and their efforts of protecting oceans and surf breaks around the world.”

With project BLUE’s expansion into the SIMA Environmental Fund, the initiative will have increased opportunities to promote its message of supporting change through conscious shopping at the retail level.

“We are really excited about adding the SIMA Environmental Fund as a beneficiary of this campaign.  In addition to continuing our support of Surfrider, we’re now going to be helping a greater number of environmental groups,” commented Vipe Desai, founder of project BLUE. “This expansion with the SIMA Environmental Fund is going to help the team at project BLUE spread the word to an increasingly growing community of likeminded supporters.”

The non-profits which make up the SIMA Environmental Fund include:

-       Alaska Wilderness League
-       Algalita Marine Research Foundation
-       Assateague Coastal Trust
-       Heal the Bay
-       KAHEA: Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance
-       North Shore Community Land Trust
-       Ocean Institute
-       Ocean Defenders Alliance
-       Orange County CoastKeeper
-       Paso Pacifico
-       Reef Check
-       Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
-       Santa Monica Baykeeper
-       Save the Waves Coalition
-       Seymour Marine Discovery Center
-       SINADES
-       Surfing Education Association
-       Surfrider Foundation
-       WiLDCOAST

As a part of the partnership with SIMA, project BLUE will have a presence at the annual fundraising event for the SIMA Environmental Fund, Waterman’s Weekend. Waterman’s Weekend begins Thursday, July 8, with the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament at the Monarch Beach Golf Links, and culminates on Friday, July 9, with the 21st annual Waterman’s Ball and auction to be held at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Calif. SIMA will honor surfing legend Tom Curren as Waterman of the Year, environmental leader Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Environmentalist of the Year, and iconic surfboard shaper Al Merrick with the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award as a part of the 2010 Waterman’s Weekend. For more information, please visit www.sima.com/watermans.aspx.

About SIMA

The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is the official working trade association of more than 300 surf industry suppliers. Founded in 1989, SIMA is a non-profit organization that serves to promote awareness of the surf industry and participation in the sport of surfing through public relations efforts and a variety of services, educational programs and research. In addition, SIMA actively supports oceanic environmental efforts through its 501(c)(3) charitable environmental foundation, the SIMA Environmental Fund. In the past 20 years, SIMA’s Environmental Fund has raised more than $5 million for environmental groups seeking to protect the world’s oceans, beaches and waves. The SIMA Humanitarian Fund, also a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, was established to award grants to various surf or boardsport related social and humanitarian non-profit organizations whose efforts are focused on improving the quality of life, health and/or welfare of people. Liquid Nation Ball serves as the annual fundraising event for the SIMA Humanitarian Fund, and since 2004 has raised and donated more than $1.25 million to surf-related non-profit humanitarian organizations. For more information regarding SIMA, please visit www.sima.com. Follow SIMA at Twitter.com/SIMA_SURF.

About project BLUE

project BLUE is an unprecedented collaboration of leading and competitive brands in the multi-billion dollar surf industry.  Each of the project BLUE product partners has created special edition merchandise specifically for the initiative, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale going towards the non-profit beneficiaries of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Environmental Fund. Billabong, DAKINE, Electric, Famous Wax, Nixon and O’Neill have all pledged their long-term support for the program.

project BLUE products can be found worldwide at leading surf retailers and online at www.Swell.com. More information on project BLUE and its partners can be found at www.betruetoblue.com or by following it on Twitter @betruetoblue.

January 26, 2010 – San Clemente, CA: project BLUE, the surf industry initiative where leading brands support the non-profit Surfrider Foundation through a co-branded and limited edition product line, is excited to announce that American Express has donated $10,000 to Surfrider as a part of their role in supporting project BLUE.

American Express joined project BLUE as the program’s first ever payments partner just before the 2009 holiday shopping season. As part of their initial involvement, American Express assisted in the re-launch of project BLUE’s “All I want for the holidays is a clean ocean,” e-card campaign. The campaign was promoted through traditional and social media channels, including a Twitter campaign, Facebook contest involving new Nixon watches and headphones and an online advertising buy on Surfline and SURF.

“It’s important for everyone to make conscious decisions about the environment in their daily lives and that includes purchasing decisions, which is why we are proud to support project BLUE,” said Angel Maroto, vice president of the U.S. western region, American Express Merchant Services. “By supporting the ‘All I want…’ project BLUE campaign, we helped our cardmembers contribute to the preservation of one of our greatest natural resources.”

While the project BLUE product line is constantly evolving, it presently includes a range of organic cotton t-shirts, polarized sunglasses, surf watches, in addition to a selection of boardshorts, surf traction accessories, wetsuits and backpacks all made from made from recycled materials.

More information can be found on project BLUE at the following locations:

Official Site: www.betruetoblue.com

Facebook: www.tinyurl.com/projblueFB

Twitter: www.twitter.com/betruetoblue

About project BLUE

project BLUE is an unprecedented collaboration of leading and competitive brands in the multi-billion dollar surf industry. Each of the project BLUE product partners has created special edition merchandise specifically for the initiative, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale going towards the non-profit Surfrider Foundation. Billabong, DAKINE, Electric, Famous Wax, Nixon and O’Neill have all pledged their long-term support for the program.

project BLUE products can be found worldwide at leading surf retailers and online at www.Swell.com. More information on project BLUE and its partners can be found at www.betruetoblue.com or by following it on Twitter @betruetoblue.

About The Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Now in its 25th year, the Surfrider Foundation has grown from a small group of dedicated surfers in Malibu, California to a global movement made up of over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide. For more information visit us at www.surfrider.org.

About American Express

Merchant Services is the merchant network of American Express, which acquires and maintains relationships with millions of merchants around the globe, which welcome American Express-branded Cards. American Express Company is a leading global payments, network, travel and banking company founded in 1850.?