<Part XNUMX> Stop environmental destruction,The production of various snowboard items also has a major impact on the natural environment.
At snowboard shops, outdoor shops, etc., you can find "bluesign"®︎Have you ever seen or heard the phrase?Some of you may have noticed this, but some may not have been aware of what it meant.
As industry is rapidly evolving, the world is now facing a major environmental problem called global warming.In recent years, problems that are familiar to us include rising temperatures due to abnormal heat waves that last for a certain period of time, torrential rains, heavy snowfall, and light snowfall due to global warming, which are directly linked to serious problems.This cannot be left as is, and if we do not choose a path to improvement, the situation will only get worse.This is why the issue is so urgent.
In various production activities, many chemical substances are used to improve the efficiency and performance of products, and machines are operated in factories to perform various processing and tasks.Naturally, not only the boards we use for snowboarding and other hard gear, but also textile products such as clothing, are completed using various chemicals and processing.
Snowboard manufacturing factories are environmentally friendly factories, such as sorting wood harvested under forest management, using recycled materials, eliminating harmful chemicals from the chemicals used, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the factory. An increasing number of manufacturers are starting production and management.Although there are differences in the progress of snowboarding depending on the manufacturer, enjoying the sport of snowboarding is closely related to the natural environment, which is why we need to seriously face this first.
When it comes to hard goods such as boards, it is easy to feel that they have a strong impact on environmental issues.However, textile products also have a significant impact on environmental issues.Many people may not be aware that the use of particularly harmful chemical products is a problem.
Chemicals currently used around the world25% are used directly or indirectly in the textile industry, and the production of products using them is increasing every year.Issues such as increased greenhouse gas emissions, dangers from harmful chemicals, and water pollution are becoming more serious, and efforts are being made to implement various regulations and make improvements. It is.
Here, we will discuss environmental issues and how to improve soft goods such as bags and clothing that we use while snowboarding.®︎I would like to tell everyone about "certification".
In the production of snowboard items,
The reality is that there are things that need to be improved.
Have you ever heard of a harmful substance called "PFAS"?In recent years, the issue of the leakage of harmful substances has been reported in the news in various parts of Japan.It is a chemical substance that is difficult to decompose in nature, accumulates in water, etc., and is carcinogenic, so its elimination or use is restricted under international treaties. PFAS is a general term for more than 4730 types of organic fluorine compounds.Regulations are becoming stricter in Europe, and in Japan, investigations into the toxicity of PFAS and water quality monitoring are becoming even more stringent.
In fact, PFAS is a substance that concerns us as well. PFAS has excellent properties such as water resistance, oil resistance, and stain resistance, so it has been used in a variety of applications such as coating agents, surfactants, and surface treatment agents.Until now, organic fluorine compounds classified as PFAS have been used in chemical coating materials used to improve the waterproof performance of clothing and bags.
Of course, snowboarding wear and bags such as backpacks that are used on the snow must be waterproof to avoid getting wet on the snow.Items that are not waterproof and allow moisture to seep into them are of no use.Those of us who have used functionally superior clothing and bags as a matter of course need to be fully aware of these issues.
Difficulties in finding ways to improve
So what should we do to improve?Snowboard manufacturers outsource the production of the materials used in their products to textile factories, and the coating agents used to process the fibers at the textile factories, as well as the raw materials, are all produced at separate factories.If there is a situation where hazardous substances are involved in the materials necessary for manufacturing at some point in the process, or if hazardous substances are emitted from the manufacturing factory, the products we ultimately use will contain hazardous substances. or it will not lead to actions to stop environmental destruction.
To eliminate harmful substancesWe must be able to follow the entire process of a product, from its manufacture to its delivery to our hands, and confirm that all processes are non-hazardous and are produced in an environmentally friendly manner.But it's not easy.It is difficult to judge whether a product is safe just by looking at it.We don't know what kind of chemicals are used or what kind of factory it's made in.
This is shown by “bluesign®︎This is a product with a tag printed with the name ``certified''.
Next time, “bluesign”®︎” What standards do they manage and certify?Let's find out about it.
