Green Waves on White Slopes

For those of you depriving your carving bug of fluffy snow blankets due to the eco-cruel components comprising most snowboards, deny that bug no longer.

A handful of companies have understood your love for speed, air, and the environment, and have created boards that allow you to pull 180’s in eco-friendly bliss.

Burton, for instance, has produced the Eco Nico - perhaps one of the greenest boards available. As The New York Times points out, the Eco Nico’s few components are “a Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood core, a lacquer-free top sheet, 90-percent recycled steel edges, 100-percent recycled sidewalls and a 50-percent recycled base.”

Don’t choose yet, however, as Mervin Manufacturing has also been lending your desires an earmuff through their Lib Tech and Gnu-brand snowboard lines. They use top sheets made of bio-plastics from castor beans, sustainable wood cores, basalt fiber in place of fiberglass, 100 percent recyclable bases, and are produced in a factory that doesn’t poison its workers or the environment (harder to find than you may think).

Another significant contributor to this green wave on the white slopes is Arbor Snowboards. They’ve been using eco-technology to make natural boards since ’95 and donate 5-percent of each purchase to environmental groups like The Nature Conservancy.

Salomon also makes the nice list for their Green Initiative for Tomorrow (G.I.F.T)’s Sick Stick Snowboard - an award-winning ride consisting of a bamboo core, petroleum-free top sheet and lacquer, significantly reduced amounts of non-renewable materials, lighter overall board weight, and an accompaniment of a cotton-bamboo knit bag.

Which one will you choose to ride on?