April 10th, 2006
Betty Belts has been nominated for The Surfer’s Path Green Wave Award in the category of Surf Accessories! The Green Wave Award is given by The Surfer’s Path Magazine annually for excellence and achievement in promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness in the surfing world. Other categories include Surfboard Manufacturing Companies, Surf Apparel Companies, Surf-Related Non-Profits, Media and Publishing and Individuals Who Surf.

As a surfer, designer and owner Donna von Hoesslin feels it is important to give back where she can in the community, particularly women’s surfing. Betty Belts sponsors many surf and charity events and organizations including the Ride-a-Wave Foundation, SurfAid International, Western Surfing Association, East Coast Wahines, International Women’s Surfing and many more. Betty Belts also sponsors a team of talented female athletes.

Betty Belts and Betty B. accessories are hand-made and marketed with environmental and social sustainability a high priority. There are no sweat shops and no factories used, work is contracted out to home-workers in Bali, Indonesia. In all aspects of running her business, Donna makes every effort to reduce, reuse, recycle and reinvent.

“It’s not easy for a small company (or any company) to be green,” says Donna, “In making decisions there are constant opportunities to save money and take the easy route or you can apply the extra effort and (often) expense to go the green route. I consider the impact every time and always look for a sustainable method, even if it takes a lot of time and effort to find a solution. Efforts like these are the foundational building blocks of hope for a better world. A cleaner, simpler and less wasteful world which we can all work toward step by step.”

To find out more about Betty Belts, go to