Eco-Friendly Snowboards
These brands are building better boards
Image: Piotr Golemo, Adobe Stock
The future of snowboarding hinges on our care for the planet. With warming temperatures, board-able winters might become a thing of the past in the not-so-far-off future. Here are a few environmentally-friendly snowboard companies making snowboards with the planet in mind.
Arbor Snowboards
Arbor Snowboards are built with the environment in mind. These snowboards are made from renewable, sustainably-sourced wood and bamboo from well-managed forests that are certified by reliable organizations, including the Forest Stewardship Council. They also reclaim all wood by-products for use in other Arbor products or by outside companies and reuse their excess materials. If sustainable engineering isn’t enough, Arbor also supports environmental organizations such as The Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative and The Conservation Alliance.
Salomon Snowboards
Salomon is a big brand that has been more dedicated to sustainability in recent years. In their 2022 sustainability report, they outline initiatives such as Science Based Targets for a 50% absolute reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become Net-Zero by 2050. They have also signed the United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. In last year’s report, Salomon outlined the sustainability of their snowboards, going as far as to label these products “sustainability-centric.” Salomon snowboards feature 100% sustainably-sourced wood cores, 100% PVC-free materials, 50% bio-based resin, and repairable bindings made from 100% PVC-free materials.
LibTech Snowboards
LibTech Snowboards are manufactured by Mervin Manufacturing in what they call “The World’s Most EnvironMENTAL Board Factory.” The Washington factory is powered by wind and water, heated by renewable based biodiesel. Their snowboards are constructed with sustainable materials such as eco-wood cores, non-petroleum-based bio-plastics made from castor beans, and low-VOC epoxy resin systems. Mervin Manufacturing also mitigates waste by recycling wood sawdust, donating their scrap wood for kindling, and recycling all of their scrap plastics. LibTech Snowboards and other “Mervin Made” products are truly next level when it comes to sustainability.
Jones Snowboards
Jones Snowboards founder Jeremy Jones is the powerhouse behind environmental organization Protect Our Winters, so it makes sense that his eponymous boards would be constructed with eco-consciousness. On Jones Snowboard’s “Eco Performance” page, they call out a need to balance performance and sustainability. They do take many sustainable measures, which we list below, but admit to prioritizing performance because “we trust our lives to these boards.”
Some of the sustainable materials that Jones Snowboards uses in their production include topsheets made with castor beans or Fusion Tech, reducing material use; finger-joined wood cores, reducing wood material waste; and recycled ABS sidewalls and steel edges. They also use non-toxic materials such as a printer that meets the Oeko-Tex Safety Standard for topcoat graphics, bio-degradable wax, and non-toxic sidewall finishing solution.
In October 2023, Jones Snowboards launched a snowboard recycling program.
Gnu Snowboards
Gnu Snowboards is another Mervin Manufacturing brand, which means their boards are handcrafted in the US, in a factory powered by wind and water, with sustainable materials. Their snowboards are constructed with sustainable materials such as eco-wood cores, non-petroleum-based bio-plastics made from castor beans, and low-VOC epoxy resin systems. Mervin Manufacturing also mitigates waste by recycling wood sawdust, donating their scrap wood for kindling, and recycling all of their scrap plastics. Is there a difference between Gnu and LibTech? In terms of manufacturing, probably not; many say the differences boil down to branding.
A main consideration when purchasing a new snowboard is that it is made to last. The less production emissions and waste that enter the environment, the better. When it comes time to buy a new board, you can also recycle your old snowboard so that it can re-enter the production cycle, instead of becoming hard-to-break-down-waste that sits in the landfill for decades (or even longer).
