Green Scene Gear: Green Wax

all natural ski and snowbaord wax won't pollute

There are more than 11.5 million skiers and snowboarders in the U.S., myself included. All of us who ski and ride have wax on our skis for the best glide on snow, and many of us rewax periodically throughout the season as our wax wears off. Where, might you ask does it go? As you ski, the snow gradually rubs off your wax. As that snow melts, the runoff, and your old wax, flows into the nearest mountain stream.

Most ski waxes contain PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid, also called C8, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to eliminate by 2015.  According to the EPA, PFOA is “very persistent in the environment, is found at very low levels both in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, remains in people for a very long time, and causes developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.”

Want to do your part to keep PFOA out of the environment and out of the lungs of your ski tech? Try Green Wax. U.S.A. made from a proprietary blend of natural ingredients, it can be rubbed on or melted on and ironed in. Green Wax comes in a cardboard tube made from 100% post consumer recycled waste with a recycled plastic cap. Both can be recycled again. What about the wax? It’s now being used by shops and individuals alike. Our Vermont-based testers reported they couldn’t tell the difference on snow—their skis maintained great glide, and it didn’t seem to wear off any sooner than traditional wax. $7.50 for a 2 oz tube of solid wax, $39 for a six pack, greenskiwax.com

-Berne Broudy