Can you live with the true cost of a Neoprene wetsuit?

That is the question being asked by guests Lewis Arnold and Chris Nelson. Filmmakers who explore this question in their documentary The Big Sea. 

Surfing is a $10 billion global industry – built on the dream of carefree spirits, crystal clear waters and an even clearer connection to the natural world – has never been more popular. Surfing has posed as a champion of environmental issues. But there is a dirty secret… and people are dying. Lewis Arnold and writer Chris Nelson have followed the story from the communities of Cancer Alley in Louisiana, through to the wave rich beaches of California, to the heart of the surf industry and beyond.

Through speaking with surf brands, industry leaders, surfers, cultural commentators and environmental campaigners, they ask: “Can you live with the true cost of a Neoprene wetsuit?” and, “Will surfing lead the charge of the outdoors industry and beyond, away from Neoprene, to a more viable alternative?”

The Big Sea is a fully independent documentary that was filmed over three years in the USA, Australia, France, Spain, UK and Ireland. 

For more information you can follow https://www.instagram.com/thebigseaorg/ on Instagram or go to https://www.thebigsea.org

The Swell Season Podcast is recorded by The NewsStand Studio at Rockefeller Center in the heart of Manhattan and is distributed by The Swell Season Surf Radio Network. 
https://www.swellseasonsurfradio.com

Music: 
Song: Riding The Wind
Artist:The Val Dusty Experiment
Album: Litmus

The Big Sea: Lewis Armstrong and Chris Nelson

This podcast concerns an appeal by O’Neill Wetsuits Ltd against a UK tax authority HMRC ruling on the tariff classification of their imported wetsuits. The dispute centers on whether the wetsuits should be classified under a higher or lower customs duty rate based on their essential character: neoprene rubber (Appellant's argument) or rubberized textile (HMRC's argument). The case involves interpretation of the UK Tariff, General Interpretive Rules, Harmonized System Explanatory Notes, and a prior EU regulation (no longer legally binding in the UK). The First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ultimately ruled in favor of O’Neill Wetsuits, classifying the wetsuits under the lower duty rate. The decision considered various legal precedents, including the Sola Wetsuits case.

O’Neill Wetsuits Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 1071 (TC)

Swell Season is a radio show dedicated to New Yorkers who surf and the urban water we love. Interviews, forecasts and voices from beach. Broadcast live on https://www.swellseasonradio.com/ Tuesdays 8-9pm(ET).
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New tracks tagged #Wetsuits