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Green: Purl Wax
Erin Blaisdell
Since Purl Wax begun operating in Colorado, they have been making amazing strides to make snowboard and ski wax that is incredibly fast while cutting out toxic PFC’s. Of all of the environmentally friendly waxes that we’ve tested at Shred Betties, Purl stands out as one that can really compete with traditional wax.
I had a chance to catch up with Scott Sparks, the owner of Purl and get the low down on everything that is Purl. Read on, I promise you’ll learn a lot about how the wax you could be using now is affecting the environment in a negative way…get on the Purl train and protect our slopes!
How did Purl get started?
In the late 90’s, I was working for a company in Boulder, CO called B&A Designs. We were doing all kinds of screen printing work but we also had a line of wax on the side. In 1999 we all went our separate ways. Bruce Adams started his company called Skate Colorado, Jim Beach took over the screen printing part of B&A Designs, and I ran with the wax division. We were located on 47th & Old Pearl so it became Purl Wax. All in all I was really fortunate and everything fell in to place.
Purl is known to be 100% for the environment. What separates Purl from other environmentally friendly wax companies?
The first difference is in our choice of ingredients. We do not use soy wax. We have been researching alternative materials for over a decade now and have come up with some very unique, complex blends that can truly compete with chemically infused fluoro waxes. I believe that we have the fastest and most durable product on the market.
There is not a single ingredient in the ICE 9 wax that you would find in traditional ski and snowboard wax. Traditional ski and snowboard wax is made with petroleum based hydrocarbons with additional “slip agents” such as graphite, molybdenum, silicone, or perfluorocarbons (PFCs). The challenge with the ICE 9 wax was to use all natural ingredients that are non toxic and biodegradable and that come from renewable resources.
How did you get away from using soy? Are you anti-edamame or something?
Haha, I do love edamame – to eat, but not on the base of my board.
I have thoroughly tested soy wax and in my opinion it is not suitable for a ski and snowboard wax. Soy wax is hydrogenated soy oil. Hydrogenation is a process of eliminating double Carbon bonds in the oil by adding hydrogen. The end result is that soy oil is now a solid at room temperature, but it is not literally a wax. Remember Crisco? That is hydrogenated vegetable oil. If you can imagine putting a coating of soy oil or Crisco on the base of your board, you would expect it to be rubbed off after one or two runs. In my opinion, soy “wax” is not durable enough to be used as a ski or snowboard wax. Instead, we use ingredients that form naturally into hydrocarbon chains, so they are incredibly durable, and of course, insanely fast.
What are your goals of trying to decrease the carbon footprint and impact on planet harm to help keep our winters longer? How are you working on this?
Well, I really try to keep focused on my own backyard. Sometimes the bigger problems can get overwhelming. Small things add up, especially when a lot of people are on board.
If you could be anything in the environment what would you be?
Hmmm, if I could be anything in the environment I would definitely be a human…in the environment.
You have obviously done your research at Purl to make your products as environmentally friendly as possible. What are some of the most surprising discoveries you have come to learn about the traditional wax products many of us are still using today?
Well, most of us are still using fluorinated waxes, either high fluoro, mid fluoro, or low fluoro. The story goes something like this…
Fluorine is the most electronegative of all the elements. When substituted for one or more hydrogen atoms in a hydrocarbon wax, the new fluorocarbon wax becomes incredibly hydrophobic, which is why it is great as a snowboard wax.
The concerns about fluorinated waxes stem from the production process. Manufacturing fluoro products requires some nasty chemicals, including Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These chemicals have ended up in the water streams near Dupont and 3M production facilities and have affected thousands of people. Ski and Snowboard wax is a minuscule part of the bigger picture of fluorochemical processing. Please take a look at our website for more info on the Environmental Protection Agency’s lawsuits against fluorochemical manufacturers in the US.
http://www.purlracing.com/environment.php
The irony is that we have found several naturally occurring compounds that have similar ultra-hydrophobic properties. The main difference is that they are all natural, non-toxic, biodegradable, and renewable. By incorporating these natural hydrophobic ingredients into our wax, we are producing eco-friendly products that can go toe to toe with any chemical laced wax product on the market.
We look to companies like Purl to keep moving forward with environmentally friendly products. What do you find to be the hardest challenge in making the best wax you can while still having as little impact on the environment?
As our business has grown from local, to national, to global, we have made serious efforts to ensure that every aspect of the growth phase meets our environmental standards. For instance, we are very involved with the supply of our eco based waxes. There are no issues with hurting indigenous species of plants or with clear cutting. Our suppliers utilize sustainable harvest methods that have been self-perpetuating for hundreds of years.
What suggestions can you give our lady shredders in our attempt to protect our winters and keep our slopes green?
Haha… That is a tough one.
I didn’t start snowboarding to be part of an environmental movement. I ride because I love being out in nature, shredding through the trees. When I’m up at Breck or Copper or A Basin, and I find myself off in the trees knee deep, everything is so quiet. It’s awesome. I think that may be the key. We enjoy this and we want our grandkids to have the same opportunities that we have. So don’t take it too seriously. Keep it fun, but keep it around.
Your wax rocks! What’s selling like hot cakes?
Everything! It’s pretty amazing.
Where can I get some Purl wax so I can be a part of the earth friendly movement as well?
Please support our dealers! They are awesome and we would not be around without their support. Please make the effort to find a store near you that carries Purl Wax.
Here is our dealer locator
http://www.purlracing.com/storeLocator.html
If there is not a dealer near you, you can order online. Or even better go to your favorite shred shack and ask them to get in touch with us.
I have a question for you now. Do you know where the name ICE 9 came from? Here is a hint… Vonnegut.
I had to do a little research on that one Scott but my final answer is “Cats Cradle” written by Author Kurt Vonnegut?!...If so very creative, but it seems that I need to catch up on my reading.
