Thinking environmentally today is the key to living Zen and being a good global citizen.  And, with the help of companies manufacturing products with the environment in mind it is up to the consumer to make the right choices when purchasing goods.

We’ve found a few green items to lighten your conscience and help alter the effects on the environment along the way.

100% recycled boardbags –
Whether it’s the selection of the raw materials, the recyclability of the finished products or the optimization of the energy required to manufacture and transport the products, Oxbow (French surf brand who sponsors Laird Hamilton) and the Lafuma Group are both committed to identifying solutions that will noticeably reduce the impact of its products on the environment.

Oxbow’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection includes 100 percent recycled boardbags, boardshorts and t-shirts made with raw materials, recycled polyester and organic cotton.  100 percent recycled boardbags made from used kitesurf and windsurf sails collected by the brand’s network of stores and manufactured locally is keeping costs down and transportation to a minimum inadvertently helping the environment.  (www.oxboworld.com, www.oxbowshop.com)

Wave Tribe is another eco-conscious company using earth friendly materials to make boardbags. Their second generation bag made out of even stronger hemp than it’s predecessor is now available in three colors to satisfy any mood.

It’s manufactured from hemp and recycled plastic offering a bag that protects your board from the sun, heat and dings while you protect the environment. (www.wavetribe.com)

Eco-friendly Ski’s, Snow and Skateboards -
The key to buying eco-friendly boards and ski’s is to choose companies using sustainable materials including bamboo and other wood from sustainable forests, rather then forestry with old-growth trees.

Liberty Skis (www.Libertyskis.com) manufactures all –terrain skis with laminated bamboo cores.  The independent, Colorado ski manufacturer also runs on 100 percent wind power.

Venture Snowboards (www.venturesnowboards.com), another independent Colorado manufacturer has been making boards using American poplar and ash cerified by the Forest Stewardship Council.  

Arbor (www.arborsports.com) is also setting a good example in the marketplace making snowboards and skateboards with bamboo, koa, cork, poplar and paulowinia woods as well as using recycled materials from leftover poly-ethylene.

They also offer a huge range of soft goods made with bamboo blends and 100 percent cotton.

Salomon (www.salomonsnowboard.com) and Burton (www.burton.com) have also jumped on the band wagon. See a list of top eco-friendly boards here.

Eco-Safe Surf and Snow Wax -
Matunas wax, a local California product,  is nontoxic and biodegradable with labels made from recycled paper and printed with soy bean ink.

Their organic formula contains natural ingredients such as beeswax, jasmine, clay, and tree sap as apposed to petro-chemicals, fluorocarbons and other toxins some brands use.

Waxes that contain toxins can not only harm you, but also end up polluting the water.  Beaver Wax and Enviro Mountain Wax make ski and snowboard wax using environmentally-friendly additives from both plant and vegetable extracts.

www.ExplorerGirls.com / Courtney Crow

Images: Wave Tribe, Arbor, Matunas