Ithaca, NY’s Comet Skateboards makes its decks with natural biocomposite materials, composts all manufacturing scraps, and has implemented a “closed loop” manufacturing process: “Closed loop manufacturing strategies consider what happens to a product at the end of its life and what happens to all bi-products of the manufacturing process. Comet uses materials that can safely biodegrade at the end their use.” Nadia Hosni, Tonic.

The process and result: Stuart D’Arcy of D’Arcy Surfboards is regarded as the most eco-friendly surfboard manufacturer in Australia. “We are committed to adopting cleaner production principles… This not only means that we minimize environmental harm, but also that we produce surfboards in the most efficient manner.” Darcysurfboards.com

Produced by Circulate Motion Pictures

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) couldn’t be happier with the recent success at the Vancouver Olympics (21 medals), but “discontent is simmering among skiers who say budget cuts have sliced too deeply into athlete financing, forcing elite competitors to pay for everything from airline tickets to training camps even as the organization’s top executives are among the highest paid in the Olympic world.”

“The reductions have led several skiers to question whether the association is living up to its mission to support top athletes, said Scott Macartney, who represents Alpine skiers on the board.” Katie Thomas and Andrew Lehren of The New York Times report.

Resort companies like Rock Resorts are implementing green initiatives (on-mountain recycling programs, solar-powered trash compactors, composting programs etc.) at their properties to reduce their carbon footprint, save on operating costs, and hopefully attract a new demographic of eco-friendly guests.

“‘We’ve seen a natural progression of the customer experience at our properties as more travelers are willing to help and commit to eco-friendly practices,’ Paul Toner, COO of RockResorts, told Travel Agent. ‘The majority are leisure travelers who want to feel they can give something back, and we want to provide such opportunities to them,’” reports Kirk Cassels of Travel Agent Central.

Board Shaper

Entrepreneurs and surfboard shapers Joey Santley and Steve Cox of San Clemente, Ca. of start-up Green Foam Blanks and Ned McMahon of San Diego’s Malma Composites (soy-based surfboard blanks), are trying to change the toxic manufacturing history of the surfboard industry by creating blanks that are 60 to 65 percent recycled waste.

“A broken board tossed in a landfill will take generations to biodegrade; the plastic fins probably never will. Even the thin strip of wood that runs down the middle to provide strength comes at an environmental cost…” writes Mike Anton of The Los Angeles Times.

photo credit: Jaymis

Gary King of The Daily Telegraph writes about the global expansion of surfing, with international industry spanning equipment, clothing, publishing, competitions, and surf camps. In addition, there’s even a recent UK trend of students matriculating with Surf Science and Technology degrees…

“Long gone are the days when surfing was seen as the preserve of the slacker and the beach bum. These days you are likely to see people of all ages and walks of life bobbing around in the water waiting for that next big wave. In recent years a plethora of surf schools has sprung up all over Britain and a new £3 million artificial reef has been built in Bournemouth to capitalise on the sport’s ever-increasing popularity.”

Vintage Skis

Despite a 12-year campaign to engage snow sport newcomers, the skiing industry reports that the “conversion rate from newbie to active participant has only risen from about 15 percent since 1999.” These numbers, the slumping economy, and a future that won’t include the current and aging baby boomer demographic have the ski resorts scrambling to adjust their business models and on-mountain offerings.

“Resorts have planned for at least a decade for a fast and furious drop-off of visits from baby boomers who helped build the industry but who will likely cut back as aching knees, hips and backs set in,” reports Catherine Tsai of The Associated Press.

“Things are changing though. In the last decade, more resorts have embraced snowboarding, added terrain parks and boosted offerings beyond skiing, for instance with summer mountain biking.”

photo credit: nilsrinaldi

Promising it will save 176 trees and eliminate 74,826 gallons of wastewater, Patagonia just launched their first-ever “e-catalog,” the 2010 Patagonia fly fishing product guide.

Casey Sheahan, Patagonia’s angling CEO: “The fishing market is the right place to launch an e-Catalog. Anglers are online, engaged, and we’re hoping they will help us get the word out on their own Facebook and Twitter pages,” continues Sheahan. “Anglers have turned to the internet to review water conditions, hatches, plan trips, research product news, blog, and more, making them the perfect customer for an online, interactive e-Catalog that feels more like a magazine or multi-media site.”

More eco-friendly marketing speak from the The Cleanest Line: “…[W]hile folks have long been aware of the impact catalog production has on trees, it’s only recently that attention’s been turned to additional impacts in the form of energy consumption, greenhouse gases, solid wastes produced, and water consumed. Together, our only-online Surf and Fly Fishing catalogs have prevented close to 3 million gallons of waste water from entering our waterways.”

Burton Snowboards has decided to close U.S. board production operations–located in Burlington, Vermont for nearly three decades–and transition its remaining production to Austria. CEO Laurent Potdevin cited  “labor costs,” “real estate and utility expenses,” and “health care benefits” as key factors in determining the decision.

“‘When I started Burton Snowboards in 1977, all we did was make snowboards in Vermont. … We’ve excelled at prototyping and developing product in Vermont, which is why all four Burton Olympic halfpipe medals were won on snowboards coming out of our local factory,’ [Founder Jake Burton] said in a written statement. ‘But simply put, it costs us significantly more to produce a board in Vermont than we are capable of selling it for, and sadly, this is not sustainable in the current economy,’” reports Dan Mclean of The Burlington Free Press.

Entrepreneur Chris Chapman who started Loucon–the successful online retailer of used ski equipment–has learned many hard, but valuable, lessons in his years as an outdoor retailer, and developing relationships with bargain equipment manufacturers and scaling e-commerce have been instrumental in growing his business.

“After struggling to turn a profit, Chapman had an epiphany: If he could buy less expensive used goods instead of newly made products, he could remove a big part of his cost structure. ‘Buying is the secret and key,’ he said. ‘The day you buy your goods is the day that determines whether you are going to make it,’” reports Thomas Heath of The Washington Post.

“In 2009, Chapman sold around $1.3 million in ski equipment and accessories, including 7,000 pairs of skis. Of that, $770,000 was sold directly to consumers through the Internet. Of those Internet sales, 58 percent came through eBay. The Loucon Web site — brought in 20 percent of online sales, and 22 percent came through Amazon.com.”