State of Sustainability in Ski Manufacturing

Skroob

Skroob

Member
StartFragmentStartFragment There aren’t too many better feelings than peeling theplastic off a brand new pair of skis; however do any of us really know whatwaste and bi-products are created in the production of new sticks. Without being properly educated it canbe easy to say that ski industry, which is heavily reliant upon outdoorsenthusiasts and environmental conditions is a sustainable activity. However new environmental sentimentsfrom the ski community have brought forth information on production of skis andsnowboards who’s companies use plastic resins and wood cores that are harmfulto the very environment that this group of people seeks to utilize. Theroot of the problem rests in the fact that many companies use hardwoods as thecore to their skis; this is an unsustainable process as hardwoods take a longtime to grow. A more sustainablepractice is to use woods such as bamboo or paulownia which are more reliant,have more flex and provide a more energetic ski, all while being less harmfulto the environment. Anotherproblem concerning the construction of skis and snowboards is the toxicchemicals that are needed to create bases and top sheets. Substances such as clear lacquer, epoxyresin systems that are high in volatile organic compounds and fiberglass areused in the production of these components. These substances are all highly toxic and produce gasses andbyproducts that are completely unfriendly to the environment. Thisis not a necessary evil however, new technology is coming to fruition thatallows us to create resins that are viable as a ski top sheet or base and madeout of soy which is much less detrimental to the environment. A leader in this industry is Mervinmanufacturing who’s tag line reads “core shops don’t let their kids ride toxicChinese toys”. Their products, which include Gnu snowboards and Lib Tech skis,were the first to implement this soy based resin and they hope to be a leaderin this industry for years to come. Another way that Mervin pushes themselves to the forefront of the skiand snowboard manufacturing community is through their water-based graphicprinting process. The majority ofcompanies use a method that is heavily reliant on silk-screened inks full withheavy metals and thick solvent based gloss curtain coats, this is extremelytoxic to the workers in the factory and the environment. Through these processes and others suchas: recycling all excess wood and plastic, their trademark “finger joining” ofother wise useless pieces of wood into the core of their boards and the biodiesel heating system their plant runs on Mervin hopes that they can be thetipping point that allows for the entire manufacturing industry to change. Mervin is not the only company who hasembraced the idea of sustainable skiing and snowboarding however, companiessuch as Liberty skis, Karhu tele-mark skis and K2’s adventure series all striveto make their products as sustainable as possible to help with the industrychanges we are noticing. The problems that we face as a skiindustry and community are huge; in a testimony to the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, Aspen Snowmass stated that there would be no viable industrialsnow within the next twenty years. If we do not get together as a whole and make sure that themanufacturers of the products we love are produced in an environmentally soundway we will loose this sport we all cherish. So, next time you go to buy new boards take a minute to askwhat they were made of and what ramifications this may have for the deep stuffwe all love to play in.EndFragmentEndFragment
 
This is a pretty good point, but I haven't liked any of the bamboo skis I've used very much so I say we start planting trees.
 
I've really been struggling with this concept over the past few years, in nearly every other facet of business there has been a large push towards "green" products, at least in the marketing side. Companies like 4frnt and line are out their producing skis that use less plastics and more organic materials (afterbangs, and renegades) but aren't really pushing the environmental side of their products.

Also the major issue for most people is the incredible toll that being a skier nowadays takes on the environment in terms of transportation. Most ski resorts are large drives from large populations, many people own or rent second homes so they have a place to stay when they go skiing, things like charilifts, snowmobiles, cats and helicopters use huge amounts of fossil fuels in their production and operation, then you have the deforestation and habitat destruction that comes from building resorts on the mountains and around them. And then you have the fashion trends, the only reason your favorite ski, snowboard, outerwear companies,etc. make any money is because they are constantly making new and exciting products that make last years products look entirely useless. The best thing you can do environmentally is buy used skis, or last years skis or repair your skis from the year before, your going to just destroy them anyway.

My conclusion is at the end of the day it doesn't matter what you have strapped to your feet if your a resort skier your likely doing more than your fair share of environmental destruction. If you want to be a more environmentally conscious skier lose the fads, buy products that are built to last or are used (or both) and learn to enjoy hiking.

End Rant

 
interesting...been taking some sustainability classes as of late. opens your eyes to how much we fuck shit up.
 
i heard about something called plastic lumber or something? its recycled plastic that is being used to make benches and boardwalks and such. Would that be able to make skis or no?
 
You had quite a few grammar errors and such... But until people find a core material with the same, or better performance than wood that isn't more expensive to get it's not gonna happen. Same with resins and bonding materials.
 
until an alternative to fossil fueled cars becomes widespread, skiing will remain harmful to the environment. Many places in Europe allow people to take a train to the resort, so in the US we have a significantly larger impact on the earth.

its sad
 
Until I see a definitive breakdown of the associated pollution compared between what it takes to get a sheet of laminated bamboo vs laminated hardwood, I'm not going to claim that one is more environmentally friendly. The stuff we use still takes years to grow to get to the size where you can make laminate out of it.

Good thread though, keeping my eye on this.
 
Good read, well thought out and informative, while many of the points made in this article are steps in the right direction there are many companies in the ski industry that claim environmental stewardship, but are really 'green-washing' thier image in an effort to appear environmentally conscious. Not hating just stating..it's still better than nothing.

One point that was somewhat interesting and disturbing was the use of soy as a resin, we should be going away from soy at all possibilites, our nation subsidises soy just like it subsidises corn, evil corporations like Monsanto are growing mono-crop, industrialized, agri-fields of both crops that are putting farmers out of business and further exacerbating our industialized food complex that we have in this country.

Just stating how i see it, positive steps though for sure, in an effort to save winter.
 
the impact that ski production has on the environment is probably almost insignificant when compared to other major world industries.
but it would still be great if they could have more eco-friendly materials and productions.
 
Because its interesting. If you didnt find it so, why did you spend the extra five seconds it took to bitch about it instead of just hitting your browsers back button.
 
this. plus and move as close to your ski destination as possible. (move to wilson WY, hitch the pass, and rock solid local gear)
 
Yes interesting but lengthy. That's why I'm bitching. It's my opinion that's what this site runs on, peoples opinions, so I just helped this site by not hitting the back button and contributing my opinion.
Your welcome
 
Ah, so its not subject, its instead just sheer length and depth of a matter that puts you off. Yes, we should all just make shallow and simple posts, fuck complex discussion.
 
what if you could recycle skis.. melt the edges. and the plastick and use the cores and rebuild agian.. fishy thouh.
 
It's not necessarily the amount of pollution incurred in obtaining sheets of laminated bamboo or hardwood, it's the idea of sustainability. Bamboo grows at an incredible rate of up to two inches per hour, whereas hardwoods take many decades to reach maturity. The point the OP made on bamboo was on the fact that because it is such a fast growing resource it has a lot of potential as a hardwood substitute. Bamboo is also very very strong and flexy, and while I haven't been on a bamboo core ski, I've used my fair share of bamboo skateboards and have really enjoyed their pop and strength. Of course, I'm not in the shop making skis though, so I can't say "USE THIS! BAMBOO IS GREAT FOR SKIS! I KNOW EVERYTHING!", I just think that it's something that you guys should look into though.
I dunno. Good post, OP.
 
length =/= depth
Two very different things. Something can be very long with no depth, and something can be very short with lots of depth.
I was in a lazy mood and I didn't feel like reading, so what? Insinuating I'm dumb and can't comprehend this is very different than me claiming I'm too lazy to read it.
But by all means continue with your complex discussion.
 
All I can try to do is save the snow for us and people like you just keep spitting in mama natures face...
 
Buy gear not for the fad. Buy gear that will last and hopefully is built by an environmentally conscious brand. Then learn to hike. I just started hiking prolifically this year and have been enjoying myself more than ever while skiing. It's almost entirely sustainable, minus the 5 minute drive to my hiking spot. As fossil fuels become more scarce and eventually we run out, the industry will be forced to change as well as society. Things will change and I'm just happy to see that there is a push for change already.
 
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