Editor’s Note: In this episode of the GearJunkie Podcast, we sit down with Bureo Co-Founder & CEO David Stover. Bureo converts plastic ocean pollution into recycled fibers and consumer goods, with major partners like Patagonia, Trek Bikes, Costa Sunglasses, and more.

Whether he was surfing, free-diving, swimming, you name it — David Stover kept finding plastic trash in the ocean.

As someone who loves the water, it hit him really hard. “You might just drive by it on the road,” the Bureo Co-founder and CEO said. But as a surfer, Stover often received a daily reminder of the worsening problem. “You take it really personally,” he added.

Founded in 2013, Bureo is known for its unique approach to recycling and repurposing discarded fishing nets — a major contributor to ocean plastic — into high-quality products. The company’s proprietary material, NetPlus, is currently being leveraged by major brands like Patagonia, Trek Bikes, Costa Sunglasses, and more in a variety of product offerings.

(Photo/Bureo)

A Mission is Born  

Stover grew up surrounded by water, on Block Island, Rhode Island. He never considered himself an environmentalist — Being a good steward to the land was just the right thing to do. 

But as he and his co-founders noticed more and more debris in the water, they felt the need to take action. “Once you start seeing plastic in the ocean, you can’t not see it,” he emphasized.

After consulting with leading experts and absorbing many firsthand, anecdotal experiences, it became obvious to Stover that a significant percentage of waste was coming from the fishing industry — especially netting.

(Photo/Bureo)

Years later, Bureo is converting this type of waste into consumer products, like jackets, sunglasses, hats, shorts, even skateboards. In fact, the brand’s first product was the Minnow Cruiser Skateboard. 

“We were building a niche skateboard company, and to us, that was exciting!” Stover remembered. “One of the biggest takeaways from our first products was that people were more on board with the mission of converting these nets into a product that they were necessarily skateboarding.”

Slow and Steady Growth

Bureo is on a much more modest growth trajectory than other successful young companies. In its first year, when the brand was just making skateboards, it converted 10 tons of material, which amounts to roughly half a shipping container of nets. A promising start, but not enough to make a serious dent in reducing global waste.

However, by 2023, the company was converting over 1650 tons of material, roughly 80 to 100 shipping containers of plastic netting. The scale of the operation is growing exponentially, but it’s still just a drop in the bucket.

(Photo/Bureo)

As Stover explained, recycling alone will not solve the plastic problem, and a multi-pronged approach is needed, including reducing plastic consumption and exploring alternative materials.

“We have to stop making as much new plastic as we’ve been making every year in order to really start winning that battle,” he reiterated. “Once these producers of new plastic are really focusing their investments and facilities and equipment on regenerative materials or alternative materials, the real change will come.”

What is NetPlus? 

Bureo’s focus is on collecting and recycling fishing nets, but they also aim to address the end-of-life disposal of products made from these materials.

To that end, in 2014, the fledgling company caught the eye of Patagonia, which took interest in the brand’s early technology and mission. With the investment of the much-larger outdoor apparel company, Bureo committed to a path of product-oriented R&D that has culminated in Bureo’s proprietary NetPlus material. 

(Photo/Bureo)

Found in some of Patagonia’s most popular products (Baggies, anyone?), NetPlus is made from 100% post-consumer recycled fishing nets. And while that seems impressive, the company also partners directly with fishing communities to collect their end-of-life fishing net waste. 

These partnerships divert a large flow of pollution away from these coastal communities, ultimately preventing substantial amounts of plastic from reaching the open ocean. 

Working For Change

Stover still surfs often, and despite the overwhelming odds against his endeavor, he still feels optimistic during those sessions that he’s on the right course and others will take up the cause in the future. 

Over the years, Bureo has made significant strides in achieving its mission. The company has successfully established partnerships with fishing communities, incentivizing the proper disposal of fishing nets and preventing them from becoming ocean waste. 

(Photo/Bureo)

Moreover, Bureo has expanded its product line to include a variety of sustainable goods, such as skateboards, sunglasses, and other lifestyle products, all made from recycled materials. 

But more than those things, Bureo’s innovative approach has positioned the company as a trailblazer in the fight against ocean plastic pollution and providing a template for other, future companies that seek to get involved in the mission. 

“When it’s only doom and gloom — it’s really hard to see what difference you can make,” Stover concluded. ”But when you look at the youth … I see that generation taking [pollution] really personally. … that gives me hope that we’re inspiring the next generation to be more responsible.”

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