In case you missed it, there’s been a burgeoning good-news story over the past decade—a push for more sustainability in the noticeably profligate outdoor industry. Not just the use of more sustainable materials in manufacturing (the longstanding use of recycled plastic bottles in fabric, high-ratio recycled polyamide in outdoor garments, repurposed material in skis and even bioplastics made from beans in everything from eyewear to helmets), but in distribution and end-of-life use (internet-only companies that don’t maintain brick-and-mortar stores, lower-emissions shipping, fabrics with reduced microplastic shedding, repair and restoration options from clothing and hardgoods heavyweights, and items that are fully returnable at the end of their life cycle).
The push comes both from within—e.g., conscientious companies like Patagonia—and without—the outdoor community itself, which exerts huge oversight and consumer-driven choice. People have been voting for sustainability with their wallets for a while.
I can already hear the naysayers queuing up to weigh in on just what any of this has actually accomplished, whether it’s legitimately measurable, and if it has created other problems elsewhere. I won’t downplay those questions—they are, in fact, important—but I will say that from the examples I know of, there’s more sincerity, motivation and real-world sustainability gains going on than greenwashing. Is any of it perfect? Of course not. Is it going in the right direction? Absolutely. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Which brings me to this column’s main subject: the current acme of unsustainability and Holy Grail of betterment in the eyes of environmentally minded Whistlerites—skis and snowboards. This means the quest to both build these more sustainably and to prevent them becoming forever waste in landfills—and not just by repurposing that amalgam of metal, wood and plastic into art, decoration or furniture (all excellent options, BTW—recall local Randi Kruse’s Ski Heaven), but by begging the question of reversing them into componentry. In other words, will there ever be a fully recyclable ski/snowboard?
The answer is yes—thanks to North Vancouver’s ski-hardgoods innovator G3. The question is whether consumers and retailers will change their habits to embrace a program that will make these a viable purchase option. G3 has made it so easy we have no excuses. But before I dive into the company’s monumental achievement, let’s back up a bit.
By mass, traditional ski/snowboard building involves nearly as much landfill waste as the final product. In addition, because most manufacturers don’t have an eye on their supply chains, the only way to improve them is to create their own.
A few years back we heard the first rumblings of ski manufacturers changing their approach to building and end-of-life disposition. WNDR Alpine in Salt Lake City incorporated a renewable, bio-based oil material sourced from microalgae in its skis’ core and sidewalls, sharing the tech for a more sustainable, petroleum-free ski with other brands like DPS.
As part of its larger sustainability program “Equip, Collect, Repair, Recycle,” Rossignol released the Essential ski. Made from 73 per cent recycled and bio-sourced materials using no solvents or water, the aim is to recycle 77 per cent of the aluminum, steel and wood (a rate 10 times higher than that of conventional skis), burn 17 per cent (plastic, fine wood) and send only six per cent to landfill. Working with recycler MTB in the Chamonix Valley, Rossignol hopes one-third of its ski line will be part of a circular economy approach by 2028.
Which brings us to G3, which has leapt ahead of these efforts with an entire line of fully recyclable skis. Though ready to go in 2022, the official launch was delayed until fall 2023 because of the usual post-pandemic issues. Called R3—a boilerplate for “Ride. Repeat. Recycle.”—these ultra-high-performance boards are made with the same premium materials as G3’s other lines, with no compromise in flex, weight or durability.
The difference is all the materials can be recaptured, repurposed, or recycled once the skis are retired. Of the nine components released in G3’s proprietary R3 recycling technology (i.e., how they dismantle the entire ski including the chemistry holding it together), the nylon topsheet, PU sidewall and tail protector, steel edges, wood core, HDPE base and Titanal aluminum can all be recycled, while the carbon or glass fibre, magnets and resin can be reused.
It works like this: You ski the shit out of your R3s like you would any ski. When you’re ready for another pair of skis, your R3s will likely still have some life and you can pass them on to someone else. When the skis are really tout fini, whoever has them can scan a QR code on the ski to have them shipped back to G3 (they’ll even pay for it) where the R3s are dismantled and the components recycled/reused. Does recycling get any easier than that? Already the program is turning heads: Backcountry Skiing Canada awarded the R3 FINDr Gear of the Year in January.
This isn’t G3’s first sustainability rodeo, as the company already has binding repair and CRAFT gear programs, the latter involving the creation of unique lines from extra parts left over from other gear they’ve built—keeping material out of the landfill while turning out superior backcountry gear at a better price point. G3 hopes to make all of its skis fully recyclable by the end of 2024.
“They’re basically the same skis that you loved before, but now you don’t have the environmental cost,” says G3 principal Oliver Steffen, who wonders over consumer and retailer reaction. “It’s a bit of a social experiment: How important is it to you as a consumer that your skis don’t need to go into a landfill?”
If it’s important to you, then you’re part of a good-news story that’s certain to expand in leaps and bounds.
Leslie Anthony is a Whistler-based author, editor, biologist and bon vivant who has never met a mountain he didn’t like.
