At ISPO 2018 Grown released the first regenerative skis, designed with 100% hemp fibre composite, leading to about 50% lower environmental footprint. This ski is demonstrating how future product design needs to deliver systemic innovation beyond the product life cycle. While delivering a LCA-based 47% reduction of its environmental footprint due to a zerokm 100% Hemp Fibre – Paulownia Wood construction, it leaves an active positive legacy by stimulating a more resilient, circular economy in vulnerable mountain regions.
For contributing to the societal sustainability transition, the industry is responsible not only to design more sustainable products, but to even think beyond the product life cycle. In a globalized complex world we need to minimize the negative environmental footprint of products PLUS contribute positively to a regenerative, circular economy.
We designed this ski in a regenerative, circular way. Apart from the recycled PE base with a transparency window, steel edges and waste-stream based epoxy resin, this ski is 100% organic, renewable with zerokm potential. Paulownia grows in Europe. Hemp is reviving and incubates circular economies in mountain regions. It illustrates future systemic design.
High performance sporting goods can be engineered with a minimized negative environmental footprint WHILE contributing to solve our societal sustainability challenges BY designing and consuming beyond the product itself. A sustainable (sports) product must systemically contribute to a circular economy. Hemp has great potentials for our industry.
We design systemically, according to strong sustainability over the whole life cycle, LCA based, environmentally and social, while even contributing with a positive social legacy to communities, e.g. by designing this hemp ski for contributing to a circular mountain economy.
Regionally grown wood, optimized use of it: Paulownia (fastest growing trees in the world, grows in the Alps, super strong and light), Industrial hemp, strong, multifunctional, zerokm resource for composites; stimulator of a circular (mountain) economy.
