WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OLD MINT UNIFORMS?
Living in the mountains, we are only too aware of winter sports and tourism’s impact on our environment. So, a few years ago, we assessed what we could be doing better to be more eco-friendly as a snowboard school.
An Environmentally Friendly Collective
MINT Snowboarding is one of the founding members of Montagne Vert. This is a non-profit organisation made up of a collective of local businesses and individuals in Morzine. The idea is to help locals, visitors and businesses to make Morzine a sustainable tourism destination.
Montagne Vert informs, educates and encourages the community, businesses and decision-makers on being more sustainable. They do this through communicating solutions and facts with regular events.
Donating MINT Uniforms
Clothing manufacture is not very sustainable, especially clothing made from technical fabrics, with waterproof coatings. Some outdoor clothing manufacturers are becoming more sustainable these days; however, lots of perfectly good winter sports clothing are still going to landfill.
With this in mind, we have been storing the last 10++ years of MINT Snowboarding uniforms in our garage. The original idea was to donate them rather than send them off to landfill.
Initially we looked into donating them to sherpas in Nepal, however shipping costs are huge and flying them around the world is not particularly environmentally friendly. Another option was refugee charities slightly closer to home, but as all our uniforms are branded with our logos, it makes it more tricky pass them on.
We contacted Montagne Vert who had just started collaborating with another great organisation, One Tree At A Time. Their mission is to help individuals and local businesses to reduce their impact, encouraging and supporting sustainable changes with a view to protecting the mountains we all love.
One Tree At A Time covers up our logos on the uniforms, making them suitable for other riders to wear. The logos are covered up with technical fabrics taken from other outerwear that is no longer fit for purpose. Therefore, our old uniforms are still effective in keeping out the elements.
The great thing about re-using-using our uniforms is that less clothing needs to be made and shipped across the world.
Visit The Montagne Vert Shop
Our de-branded uniforms are sold online and in the Montagne Vert shop. You can find the shop on Rue du Bourg in Morzine. It is located right next door to the cinema and just up the road from our desk in The Woods, so you can’t miss it.
The shop doesn’t just have our old uniforms. It has all sorts of clothes that have been donated by Morzine locals and visitors. You can expect some great new additions to your wardrobe for both on and off the mountain.
If you need an extra layer for a cold day on the mountain or a new party top for après, Montagne Vert will have something for you.
Final Thoughts
It is initiatives like these that can reduce our negative impact on the planet. Re-using perfectly good and high-end snowboard clothing is an excellent way of staying warm and comfortable on the mountain without the need for new clothing to be produced.