What Makes A Green Snowboard?

Green Snowboards are important to many riders. However, it’s pretty hard to sift through what’s really green, in between or just greenwashing. Here are some things to look for when reading their green statement.

1. Where is it made? How much fuel does it take to get it to major markets or to a shop near you? Is it coming from China, Dubai, Austria, Canada, The US or other places?

2. Where do they get their materials from to build the boards? For example, does the steel come from the US, China or??

3. Where do they get their wood? Some have their own sustainable forests near their facilities which are best, some use dead wood, some replace the wood they take with new trees and others just buy wood.

4. What materials do they use to make sidewalls? For example, ABS sidewalls are the most common and very reliable but also very toxic. Recycled ABS is better but some companies are even making sidewalls from non-toxic or less toxic materials which of course is best.

5. What top sheets are they using? Are they using fiberglass and resin or some other material that’s less toxic like basalt?

6. How do they deal with waste? How are they dealing with leftover materials from their facilities?

7. How do these boards decompose?  Are they going to fill up a landfill or are they biodegradable?

8. What kind of power is keeping the lights on and machines running at their manufacturing facilities?  Wind, Solar, Nuclear, Coal or ?? Also what percentage of renewable energy do they use annually?

9. What are the factory conditions like?  This is not only green but also many might find it important to know what is the manufacturer’s ethical commitment to their workers.  Is the factory safe for the workers/AKA non-toxic and do they offer them a fair wage?

What I have found is that the boards with a wood top-sheet aren’t always the greenest and there are massive differences from company to company.  So if getting a green board is important to you then ask the right questions because it’s better to be green than to just buy something that looks green. In addition, being green when it comes to snowboarding is tough because many lifts you ride upon are coal powered. So if you want to be really green then get a split and earn your turns. Just take an avalanche course before going.