The composition of the new Rossignol Essential ski, made with 77% potentially recyclable materials, is online and open to view. By sharing the building components, the Rossignol Group hopes to encourage further industry collaboration on the journey towards a circular economy.
They are aiming to create momentum around the life cycle and recyclability of skis and winter sports equipment and are emphasizing the importance of collaboration.
The technical specificities of the Essential is available to all, including industry peers and competitors. The details of the construction and composition are now available on an open access basis. Technical plans and nomenclature is now available on the Group’s website.
The Essential ski is the result of three years of investment in R&D and a collaboration with MTB. A key player in the field of recycling, MTB has developed a new process for grinding, separating, and re-using materials that improves the recycling potential of conventional skis. The Essential’s high recyclability potential of 77%, is around 10 times higher than the average ski.
“We are very conscious of the current issues related to the recycling of winter sports equipment today. As a historic player in the mountain economy, we have a social and environmental responsibility to address this,” says Vincent Wauters, CEO of the Rossignol Group. “Our desire is to encourage cooperative interaction amongst all stakeholders by exploring potential improvements in recyclability and the life cycle stages of products. This movement will only be possible together.”
In sharing the innovation and design of its first recyclable ski, the Group hopes to contribute to an acceleration in the development of initiatives that are developing processes for the collection, recycling, and repurposing of winter sports equipment.