For over 28 years, Xcel has been dedicated to maximizing your time in the water and under the sun.
Yet exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can lead to skin cancer, one of today’s most common – and easily preventable – cancers.
XcelPreventing skin cancer through sun protection is important at any age and is especially effective when started early. Knowing this, Xcel designs our Youth, Men’s, and Women’s UV Performance Gear for maximum sun protection and long-lasting performance.
And to further our commitment to preventing skin cancer, we’ve partnered with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center (UHCC), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) -designated research institution sharing our goals of protection and prevention.
A portion of proceeds from every UV Performance Gear purchase in the U.S. benefits the Xcel Skin Cancer Prevention Fund, supporting skin cancer youth education programs, awareness, and research.
To date, Xcel has donated over $39,000 into the Fund.
Xcel The UHCC (formerly the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, CRCH) is affiliated with the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through science, and to ensure a healthier future for the people of Hawaii.
We developed ThermoCarbon/ThermoBamboo to deliver both performance and environmental benefits. This neoprene lining, found in most of our Surf and Dive wetsuits, is made of a blend of bamboo-charcoal infused fibers, and recycled fibers.
Bamboo is air dried and incinerated in a vacuum furnace, resulting in a charcoal with excellent heat-retention properties that is then spun into fibrous threads.
Those bamboo charcoal fibers are then combined with recycled fibers made from broken-down plastics, saving materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. The resulting ThermoCarbon/ThermoBamboo lining has excellent heat retention, helping improve wetsuit warmth and resulting in a more environmentally friendly product decision.
Preferring to use naturally-occurring materials wherever feasible, we choose limestone, as opposed to an oil-based product, as the base component for all our neoprenes and glues.
We source the limestone base component from a manufacturer that uses hydroelectricity to power the limestone conversion process – a much cleaner energy source than oil-based processes.
And to go one step further, waste heat generated by limestone conversion is further repurposed to power local aqua farming. Using limestone allows for a cleaner manufacturing process and a greener final product.
Xcel’s Haleiwa, Hawaii building includes our brand headquarters, a retail storefront, and manufacturing facility. We’ve chosen clean, renewable energy to power our operations, with a 34-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV, or solar) system estimated to offset more than 885 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime.
Learn more about our History »