At Harlem, innovation was never just about crafting the best high-performance gear. It’s about transforming the way we create it today to preserve and shape our playgrounds of tomorrow.
That commitment already shapes how we make and ship our products. Now, we’re extending it beyond production and into the places that make our sport possible.
We’re proud to announce our partnership with OceanPulse.
Who is OceanPulse?
OceanPulse is a registered non-profit ocean conservation organisation, built by and for the watersports community. Founder Fynn Hedrich left a corporate career to start it in 2025. Just over a year later, it’s active in seven countries: Ecuador, Egypt, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, the USA and Germany.
What they’ve achieved so far (as of September 2026):
- 2,061+ kg of waste removed from coastlines
- 344+ people mobilised
- 7 countries active
That’s the impact we’re proud to build on. Together, our goal is to grow those numbers and bring more of our community into the movement.
Why now
Reducing our footprint has long been part of how we approach innovation at Harlem. Our entire portfolio of kites, wings and boards is made in Europe — something we’re incredibly proud of.
We are also proud to be the pioneering partner of Brainchild Production, one of Europe’s most innovative and sustainable kite and wing manufacturing facilities, where our full kite and wing lineup is produced. The facility is powered by a 100kW solar system and operates entirely free of fossil fuels. The production methods use white materials instead of conventionally dyed cloth, reducing water consumption by 75%, while water-based EcoInk replaces traditional screen printing. Combined with European suppliers and shorter transport routes, it’s a fundamentally different approach to how kites and wings can be made.
Beyond production, we continue to look for ways to reduce our impact — from more eco-friendly packaging to the Harlem Upcycle programme, which gives unused prototypes a second life instead of letting them go to waste.
But reducing our own footprint is only part of the picture. We also want to make a positive, measurable contribution to the places our sport depends on. Around the world, many of the beaches and coastlines our community rides are facing growing pressure from plastic pollution and inadequate waste infrastructure.
Our partnership with OceanPulse takes that commitment beyond our products and directly to the beach — bringing together our riders, partners and wider community to protect the places that make our passion possible.
What we’re doing together
- Joint beach clean-ups with our riders, our dealers and the local communities around them
- OceanPulse Movie Nights — screenings and education events for the watersports community
- Shared storytelling, so the people riding our kites know what’s happening to the coastlines they ride on
- Support for OceanPulse’s mission through our channels and our community
How we’ll measure it
Every clean-up is documented consistently, including the number of participants, weight of waste collected, location and date. Waste is weighed on site wherever possible; where a scale isn’t available, estimates are clearly identified as such. OceanPulse publishes the results together with the measurement method used.
Our focus is simple: meaningful action backed by transparent reporting. Every result we share through the partnership will be traceable to a specific clean-up and location — so our community can see the real impact we’re creating together.
Where this is going
Clean-ups are the start, not the end point. OceanPulse’s long-term goal is to turn 50 of the world’s most vulnerable watersport spots into self-sustaining ecosystems by 2036 — moving them from reactive volunteer clean-ups to permanent, locally funded waste management. Every event we run together, and every kilogram we collect, brings that vision one step closer.
What's next
Our first joint clean-up is already being planned, and we’ll share the location and details soon. From there, we’re looking forward to bringing more clean-ups and initiatives to the places where our community rides.
And we’ll take you with us — sharing the people, places and measurable impact behind every action.
Join in
Protecting the places we ride starts with all of us. Join a clean-up, take action at your own local spot, or support the work directly here: https://www.oceanpulse.info/en/harlem-donate/
Follow OceanPulse on Instagram here.
Learn more: https://www.oceanpulse.info/en
Support: donations fund clean-up equipment, waste disposal logistics and education programmes at vulnerable coastal spots.
It’s more than our playground.
