Parents say they don’t want their children to be walking billboards for Woodside, the naming rights sponsor for Nippers in Western Australia.
They want the deal between the fossil fuel company and Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) scrapped.
A group of “diehard, salt-encrusted surf lifesavers” called Sustain Surf is behind the new campaign, with support from Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
A Greenpeace petition with the slogan “free the Nippers” has garnered almost 5,000 signatures. Ahead of this weekend’s SLSWA annual general meeting, Sustain Surf has released a video of WA parents talking about their concerns.
“Unfortunately for us, as parents, it feels very hypocritical to watch our kids learning to love and respect our WA coast while wearing Woodside stamped across their chests,” a parent, Ana, says.
“There is no way I’m letting my kids question me in 20 years’ time why I let them walk around at the age of five advertising a company that was knowingly destroying their future,” another mother says.
“I don’t want her to be a walking billboard for one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies,” says a third.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Sophie McNeill said such sponsorships were a way for companies to buy a social licence and there was no way to “opt out”.
“It’s not like you’re just signing up to the Nippers. You have to sign up to the Woodside Nippers. It’s not just the shirt, it’s their official name,” she said.
“You couldn’t think of a more inappropriate sponsor. Kids are going to look back and say to their parents, ‘I can’t believe you let me do that’.
“There’s a lot of debate about sponsorship and people don’t like fast food sponsorship – but you can choose not to buy your kids Macca’s. But you can’t opt out of the climate emergency.”
McNeill said many parents were reluctant to speak out for fear of retribution. In 2021, parents told Guardian Australia they did not want to be seen to be criticising SLSWA or Woodside workers.
The oil and gas giant is facing protests over projects including its planned Burrup Hub expansion and extension.
SLSWA and Woodside announced the $5m five-year naming rights partnership in 2019, after the company had been a sponsor for a decade.
When they join, Nippers are given a hi-vis vest, skull cap, wide-brimmed hat and bag with the Woodside logo on it.
The Sustain Surf chair, Dr James Anderson, who is also a Nippers parent, said it was “like letting a cigarette company stick its logo on our kids”.
“Parents across the state have had enough and we’re calling on SLSWA to dump Woodside’s toxic sponsorship,” he said.
“We’re staring down the barrel of what’s tipped to be the hottest summer on record. I’m worried about my kids and the future of our beautiful beaches, oceans and surf clubs.
“Climate change is a significant risk to surf club infrastructure, member health and our way of life.”
Prof Ross Gordon, a Queensland University of Technology expert on marketing and behavioural change, said companies do not spend sponsorship money “to be nice”, but because it is an “effective soft power”.
“It can sway consumer behaviour. It’s not the only tool they’ll use, but they certainly see it as one of the critical tools,” he said.
It can make people feel more favourably towards the brand.
“They’re trying to win hearts and minds and they’re on the back foot around climate change,” Gordon said.
He added that there was a backlash against that sort of corporate behaviour now and the onus was on communities and decision makers to find alternative, more palatable forms of sponsorship.
A Woodside spokesperson said water safety was an important issue and that the company “values and stands by our longstanding partnerships in the communities where we live and work”.
“Through our partnership with Nippers we contribute to people’s safety and are helping to train young people to become the lifesavers of the future,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The partnership provides significant support to the WA surf clubs and volunteers running the programs through the provision of program safety equipment and resources.”
Guardian Australia has contacted SLSWA for a response.
