Encourages further industry collaboration to meet the challenges of creating a circular economy throughout the ski industry
To initiate a more collective industry movement, the Rossignol Group today shared its plans for its new recyclable ski with all stakeholders in the mountain / winter sport segment. The aim is to actively contribute to the launch or development of exchangeable technical solutions that will further facilitate the recyclability of products throughout global mountain and winter sport markets.
By 2028, the Rossignol Group expects that one-third of its ski ranges will be part of a circular economy approach.
An invitation to imagine the recycling of tomorrow, together
The Rossignol Group aspires to create momentum and movement around the life cycle and recyclability of skis and winter sports equipment. To accelerate this transformation, the French company is emphasizing the importance of initiating a collaborative approach in order to collectively reduce the environmental impacts of the segment.
Highlighting its commitment, the Group has announced today that it will make the technical specificities of its first recyclable ski, the Essential, available to all, including industry peers and competitors. The details of the construction and composition of the Rossignol Essential ski will be available on an open access basis. Technical plans and nomenclature will be available on the Rossignol Group website here beginning October 18th.
Innovation at the heart of collaborative effort
Following more than three years of investment in R&D, the Rossignol Group developed its first ski with a high recyclability potential of 77% ⎯ around 10 times higher than the average of skis currently manufactured today. By publicly sharing its first eco-responsible innovation, the Group hopes to foster the type of collective engagement that can move all stakeholders toward more sustainable production and a more circular economy.
“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,” adds 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.”
The desire to initiate a collaborative recycling process
Rossignol has collaborated with MTB. A key player in the field of recycling, MTB has developed a new process for grinding, separating, and re-using materials through a technological process that improves the recycling of conventional skis, and in particular, the new Rossignol Essential recyclable ski.
In addition to sharing the construction plans for the Essential, the Rossignol Group also wishes to promote the development of specific ski recycling channels. To this end, a massification of flows is envisioned that would allow
the entire winter sports industry to benefit from the Group’s advances in the recycling and recovery of products at end-of-life.
In sharing the innovation and design of its first recyclable ski, the Group hopes to contribute to an acceleration in the global development of collective initiatives across various segments and global markets for the collection, recycling, and repurposing of winter sports equipment.
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About the Rossignol Group
GROUP ROSSIGNOL: The Rossignol Group, headed by Vincent Wauters, manufactures and markets a broad range of mountain sports and outdoor equipment and apparel. The Group and its brands provide a continuous, year-round experience accompanying consumers in every moment of sporting effort and leisure, from elite-level athletes to amateurs, from the mountains to the city. The Group’s global headquarters is located in the French Alps near Grenoble with five different industrial sites across western Europe (Sallanches, Nevers, Saint Etienne de Saint Geoirs, Artès, Montebelluna) and a U.S. headquarters in Park City, Utah. The Group houses a strong portfolio of complementary brands: Rossignol – the iconic mountain sports and lifestyle brand including Alpine, Nordic, and Snowboard, Bike, Apparel and Footwear categories; Dynastar – the specialist ski brand; Lange – the iconic specialist ski boot brand; Look – the long-standing premium manufacturer of ski bindings; Risport – the reference for ice-skating; Kerma – specialized in ski poles and technical equipment; and Dale of Norway, an iconic Norwegian brand known for its high-quality wool-based knitwear. Each has built their own unique identity and draws their inspiration from the mountains. Rossignol is majority owned by Nordic Private Equity fund Altor since 2013.
