Environment
The Echo Initiative
What you do comes back to you! The Echo Initiative is a promise that we at The Faction Collective have made to each other, and to you. Our commitment to the environment, and to reducing the impact we have on the environment over the entire lifecycle of our productsand recycling of old skis from manufacture, to shipping, to office supplies and power, to the final stages of a ski's life.
Ski areas cut down trees for trails invading the habitat of local wildlife, sweating sunscreen covered upright beasts converge on the wilderness leaving all sorts of trash behind, and the production of skis, while only a fraction of the global damage to the ozone, leaves noxious gases and chemicals behind. Not to mention all the burnt fuel pouring into the air from the skiers' choice SUV barreling towards the hill.
To this end we have commenced monitoring and improving our business practices and the practices of our suppliers and customers.:
Our aims for the coming year are:
Manufacture- Ensure our production follows all ISO 14001 regulatory standards.
- Increased use of bamboo for cores. Bamboo is light, strong and grows quicker than traditional woods, reducing the impact of large scale forresting.
- Increased use of non-toxic UV-stabilised inks
Shipping/distribution
- Bulk shipping to centralised distribution agencies reduces impact of many smaller shipments.
End-user awareness
- Raise end-user awareness by partnering with local environment groups to help suggest what you can do to reduce your impact on the environment at your local resort.
Ski recycling
- Introduction of pilot program in Verbier, Switzerland for the collection and recycling of old skis, any brand, any condition. The skis are taken apart, the steel edges melted down and sold back to industry to be re-forged, the rest of the skis are ground and used as concrete filler in local construction. We are currently in discussion with a firm in the USA to commence recycling there as well.