EcoSki: A New Sustainable Ski Wear Rental Platform

Skiing, which heavily relies on the environment to function, just got met with a sustainable ski wear rental platform. The company, known as EcoSki, is a self-proclaimed “contemporary, sustainable skiwear rental service.”

The rental philosophy this brand presents is nothing short of genius. Even if you live in a major ski state such as Colorado, skiing is only realistic for about half the year. After ski season, athletes’ equipment collects dust in the closet. If skiers want to buy new ski wear every year, it can be ridiculously expensive for a decent wardrobe. Some athletes may even resort to cheaper, poorly made products to spare costs. Luckily, EcoSki solves both of these problems. Not only is their ski wear high performance and great quality, but it is also affordable because of the rental plans they offer.

Rental options include jackets, pants, helmets, gloves, base layers, goggles, socks, and beanies. According to In The Snow, EcoSki also markets avalanche equipment. The available rental option lengths are 4, 8, 12, or 16 days.

Additionally, EcoSki presents high-quality brands to rent, such as Patagonia, Picture, Mammut, Ortovox, Amundsen, Protest, Molo, DinoSki, Yuki Threads, and Icebreaker. These brands were single handily chosen because of their durability, style, and their environmental footprint.

Rental kits include “Being free of PCFs, carbon-neutral, Fair Wear certified, Bluesign approved, responsible sourced, free of toxic dyes, bio-sourced or 100%”, as stated by EcoSki founder Rachael Westbrook. Because of textile waste, clothing rental companies are technically already presenting a sustainable cycle. As reported by Harmony Enterprises, the U.S. EPA estimates around 5% of all landfill space is consumed by textile waste. Only 15% of fashion is recycled, with nearly 85% of clothing ending in our landfills. The more clothes dumped into landfills, the more methane gas is released into the atmosphere. According to the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center, methane gas is “84 times more effective at absorbing the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide.” Because of this, methane is the most vigorous greenhouse gas which heavily fuels climate change. The fact that EcoSki is offering a service that allows people to return their ski wear when they are finished instead of disposing of it is very accommodating to the environment. EcoSki plans to send nothing to a landfill and aims to recycle old items using their network to repurpose textiles.

When customers send back their rental kits, all items are cleaned and reproofed using environmentally friendly products. An eco-friendly Ozone chamber then sterilizes the kit to be in “mountain-ready condition” for the next customer.