Smokin’ Snowboards and the Greenness of Snowboarding
By Rocky Thompson on June 9th, 2009
Smokin’ Snowboards is a level 5 vegan. Not only do they pocket compost, but they make they milled all of the cores for their boards from a 400-year-old naturally fallen tree. The Smokin’ Snowboards sidewalls are made from recycled material, and each board is sold with “suggested afterlife options.”
The best part is that Smokin’ isn’t an anomaly in the snowboarding industry. Even the behemoth Burton is working with the Forest Stewardship Council to make a certified wood core. Their Eco Nico from last year was made with mostly recycled goods and featured a big step forward in how they approach manufacturing.
Arbor makes their skateboards and clothing from bamboo, and they harvest sustainable woods like koa and poplar for their snowboards. And that’s nothing new; they’ve been doing that since inception.
So why don’t we hear about ski companies operating in this environmentally sustainable way? I’d guess because they’re much older companies, set in their design principals and material usage. Also, let’s face it, skis are far, far more technical than snowboards. Someone like PM Gear can come out with a nice sustainable freeride ski, but they’re not going to be manufacturing FIS World Cup racing skis anytime soon.
The Examiner has a great article on the sustainability of the snowboard industry.
So why don’t we hear about ski companies operating in this environmentally sustainable way?
Maybe because skiing and snowboarding are about 99.9% reliant on things like cars, trucks, SUV’s, SnowCats and snowmobiles for it’s existence. Oh, and did I forget all the energy it takes to operate a several ski lifts?
Some folks are trying to find the way out. Wind/solar power drives many ski lifts. Mass transit is available in some states. For a great way to learn more/do more, check out http://protectourwinters.org/
Hey, thanks for thinking of our little company, PM Gear, in your article.
I feel sustainability is a symptom of bigger issues and that the non-biodegradability of skis is as a big a problem, if not bigger. How about we sustain the population explosion that is killing our natural resources from forest animals and timber to the oceans and the fish and mammals that live in those waters? How the hell will we sustain oxygen levels in the future, given the leveling of the Amazon rain forest and the continued carbon output levels of fossil fuels?
Certainly, all the micrososmic contributions add up but, personally, for me, an old hippie, I’d rather make a ski that might actually raise consciousness so the token efforts to appear to be mitigating the world’s problems and appeasing those who would settle for such small contributions become more widely held views. The Lhasa Pow is such a ski. We wanted to raise awareness of Chinese oppression in Tibet and at the same time protest Chinese-made skis, the carbon footprints of which are far greater than US made skis. Chinese production has also contributed to the dearth of America manufacturing and wealth, helping create our current economic demise.
I’m not knocking the companies that cater to people who want sustainable skis. But I don’t see an ecological ski being made until they have hemp cores held together with biodegradable hemp resin and a viable bio-substitute for uhmw-type plastic bases and topsheets. Skis are exceptionally non-biodegradable. They are wood (and metal) surrounded by fiberglass, resin and plastic sidewalls, bases and topsheets. But in the whole circle of how skis and boards impact our world, there is much to be done, starting with perceptions and impressions.
I’d love our next ski to be called the ZPG to raise awareness that overpopulation is the single biggest contributor to our ecological demise. Thinking a little outside the bun and not succumbing to fashionista trends, I think it is important that consumers look at the big picture of perceptions and awareness. Such large scale big-picture trends could prove every bit as valuable, if not more, than making entire skis and boards out of recycled household garbage.
Go green, but go HUDGE!
Pat Keane
PM Gear
You need to take a closer look at some of the skis carried by Backcountry.com. Movement Skis use wood cores that are FSC and PEFC certified. Furthermore they are working to reduce the amount of resin required in the skis. For 2009/2010 the new Couloir is using new processes that allow for 50% less resin.
It’s small steps, but steps in the right direction.
armada has used FSC cores for at least a few years now!
[...] Keane[2], CEO of PMGear (he is also known as Splat), who manufactures the ski, said (in a comment he made on backcountry.com): “I feel sustainability is a symptom of bigger issues and that the non-biodegradability of skis [...]