Eco Friendly Board Brands

Posted: 05 January 2011 09:46 AM

Anyone have an opinion on if they think Eco Boards Brands have a place in market. Established brands are now starting to offer some sort of eco board, but can a brand sustain a whole range and continue to survive.
eg, Organic Snowboards, Niche Snowboards spring to mind.
Does it really matter what it’s made of or how it’s made if it looks good and performs well, or will people steer clear of the Eco approach?

Posted: 05 January 2011 10:46 AM

Personally I don’t think a brand can exists on the fact that their boards are Eco alone, but it does offer a USP in an environment where there are at least 10 up-starts each season. If brands like Niche are building great boards, have good marketing and are able to build them with less harmful processes and materials then why not. I think it’s important that consumers have the choice.

I remember being a kid and thinking why don’t the adults care about the environment why is global warming happening when it’s just a case of making some lifestyle changes. Now I’m an adult and a consumer I have the power to buy products that reduce my impact on the environment, I still need to drive my car and turn up the heating on cold nights at home, and I still need to fly back to the UK once in a blue moon so I should really be making sure that the goods I purchase are green. “I should” being the operative words. I think it’s commendable what these brands are doing and I think it’s cynical to belive they are only doing it to cash-in I think the people behind the brands actually want to make a difference… no matter how small.

Posted: 06 January 2011 10:02 AM

Thanks Rich, always appreciate you fast and honest replies. Definaltley an intersting topic. I know people are made alot more aware of environmental facts these days, just not sure when it comes time to hand over hard earned money that Green will get the thumbs up over reputation of established brands. Italy brand Rough has a good point they make on the Eco approach, not sure if you have seen their web page or know much about there boards. They have a “Tomorrow” tab on their home page that give the run down.

Posted: 06 January 2011 10:40 AM

Just checked-out the site, I like the animation on the home page.

However, I think what they are saying in that “Tomorrow” tab is pretty backward. It’s like people buying gas guzzleing cars and saying well everyone else is driving these cars so it won’t make any difference if I buy one. The fact is if everyone makes a small change in their lifestyle in our case which board they buy then our industries impact on the environment will be reduced. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason Rough aren’t interested in taking the greener path is because ‘FSC certified cores’, non-oil based resins, recycled bases and alternative fibre laminates are considerably more expensive than bog-standard materials and if they go down “that route” they won’t make the margins they need to exist as a business.

I think it’s small minded to critisize someone’s efforts to make a less toxic product.

I completely agree that producing a greener snowboard is no longer a ticket to sell boards, but eventually as oil prices continue to rise, the EU law makes using standard ester and epoxy resins more expensive to use and the price of energy goes up and up you’ll find that the brands that have invested in technologies like cold pressing and non-oil based resins are the companies on top.

Just look at Mervin, they’re doing the green thing and they have great marketing, their boards fly out of the doors.