Even though skiiers are dependent on a healthy environment to pursue their lifestyle, have you ever wondered what impact ski gear has? Before going any further, I want to qualify this by saying I’m an ardent supporter of greater access and participation. I just want to make sure all the same possibilities are available to my daughter (no pressure hunny) as they were to me. Also, I’m pretty demanding on my gear and won’t be satisfied with sub-par performance just to be “green”.
To be fair, there are signs of change, but the brutal truth is there still seems (hoping some folks with enlighten me and other reading this on anything I missed) to be a pretty big discrepency with respect to an industry that should be looking after its own best interests. If you don’t know how a ski is made, here is an article from Atomic and a video that was posted on the Discovery channel in conjunction with Dynastar. Check out this list of the “green” skis and snowboards, then raise your hand if you know any of the ski companies… You’re probably asking what “green” even means in this context. It’s a good question, and has to take into account the entire lifecycle.
How is the manufacturer powering its operations? What kind of materials are used? Can they be separated and recycled? Do they have harmful effects with they break down after we throw them in the garbage? Many companies are choosing to work with bamboo and Paulownia for this reason.
We do know it’s possible, and thankfully some students in Australia showed us how. Note, the big guys are also
Bamboo Skis from Grown
thinking about it. Fisher and Atomic have both made headway in their factories and Atomic has produced some green boots recently. I look forward to giving them a spin… Until then, maybe I’ll be looking at Liberty skis a little closer this season… Brian Merchant at Discovery has a good article on other things you can do..
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