Lynx Golf is set to become the first golf equipment company in the world to stop using single-use plastics (SUPs).
The Weybridge-based company, which exports golf clubs, bags and other products all around the world, including the USA, has set itself the bold target of ridding SUPs from its supply chain by August 1.
Owned by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Steve Elford and Stephanie Zinser since 2014, Lynx has committed to spending over £30,000 this year on alternatives for SUPs and to increase plastics recycling resources in its business, which employs just over 20 people.
Their aim is to be fully rid of SUPs by the beginning of next month, with Zinser pledging: “Among our staff, we have over 42 children and a few grandchildren. We want them to have a world in which they can live safely, healthily and happily. There is no doubt that Sir David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet’ TV series really made the world sit up and think long and hard about our use of plastics and the damage they are having on the environment.
“The golf equipment business is not unique. Although its use of single-use plastics might not be as obvious as in other industries, there are SUPs all along the supply chain. At Lynx Golf we are determined to remove them.”
Lynx Golf has made several key changes to reduce its impact on the environment. These include using paper rather than polyethylene to wrap and protect its golf bags before packaging; replacing the plastic bubble wrap used to help golf bags keep their shape with recycled paper wadding; replacing plastic parcel tape with reinforced gummed paper tape; and stopping cellophane shrinking wrapping all of its clubheads.
Zinser added: “Lynx Golf will be the first global sports equipment manufacturing company to rid itself of SUPs, but that is not without its challenges. For example, when trying to replace the shrink-wrap we use on our golf club heads to protect them, we had sourced an alternative material which is made purely from cellulose, and which is completely biodegradable into harmless elements. However, in its current form it’s not quite there. We will keep working on the best alternatives, but we’d rather have nothing than something that is either not really biodegradable, or that is, but doesn’t quite look good enough. We are therefore using other – greener – methods to hold the golf clubheads in place during transit and shipping, and this comes at additional cost to the business.”
Zinser finished by saying: “Multi-use plastics are not going to go away, at least not for a very long time, but what we can, and need, to get rid of now are the single-use plastic products used for packaging and delivery of products to consumers. These are clogging up the blood vessels of the earth – our oceans, seas and rivers. Our eco-friendly strategies are all about bringing like-minded people along with us on this journey, and we very much hope that our actions by going SUP-Free will encourage everyone who knows us, partners with us, and plays with us, to come along and join in the adventure.”