Author: Nicola

Co-founder, WhoSki.com

3 ways to #SkiGreen this and every season

1 Avoid flying to the mountains

According to train travel to the slopes website SnowCarbon, 73% of a ski resort’s carbon emissions emanate from the method of transport used by visitors. Swapping to train will cut up to 90% of the CO₂ versus flying there, they say.
Switching from plane to train is not only the most eco-friendly way to travel, but also the most civilised. You will know this if you have ever taken the snow train rather than fought your way through Geneva or Chambery airports, or driven the 1000 km across France to the Alps (at the same time as thousands of others).
The SkiFlightFree.org website cites figures from sustainability consultancy Antithesis Group that indicate flying to the Alps generates 6-7 times as much carbon as travelling by train:

Image: SkiFlightFree.org

If you’re travelling at half term, a family of four is likely to spend 50% less on the train then flying. The car journey will be even cheaper, even after you’ve factored in the Eurotunnel crossing, an overnight stop and fuel.

TIP: if you are planning to swap plane for train, book early as key dates sell out fast.

2 Wash your ski clothing less

Every time you wash your ski clothing, it releases microplastics that wash through the drains into our rivers and oceans putting marine life at risk. Polyester is a major culprit.

Avoid washing it unnecessarily, spot clean where and when needed rather than putting the whole item into the washing machine, and hang items up to air at the end of every day – and particularly at the end of your ski holiday. You may find that you can completely avoid putting jackets, pants and salopettes through the wash completely.

For polyester and other man-made fibre items that need laundering, use a product such as a Guppy bag, designed to catch any microfibres which shed during the washing process.

TIP: Washing your clothing less often will also help it last longer.

3 Buy and sell secondhand ski clothing

Some £140 million of unwanted clothing goes into landfill each year, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Not only this is a terrible waste, but it also means toxins from dumped clothing slowly leach into the earth, and thence also our waterways and oceans.

Synthetics, like those which comprise most of your ski and wintersports wardrobe, are among the worst offenders. Not only do they not biodegrade, but they also reply on petrochemical industries, ie fossil fuels, for their raw materials.

It is vital for the environment, therefore, that they remain in usage for as long as possible. Extending the lifetime of clothing items by just a few months leads to a reduction in the carbon footprint of every item. Passing on a no longer wanted/needed piece of ski or snowboard clothing to another wintersports enthusiast means you are helping cut clothing production levels, albeit in a small way. Your old is someone else’s new: this is the principle behind the circular economy in fashion.

And that is, of course, why WhoSki.com exists. Support us – support the planet. Visit the WhoSki.com shop.

TIP: Always buy and sell kids’ ski clothing secondhand. It is generally good as new and costs a fraction of the price.

Stock up on half term ski kit

Dusting down your bags of ski clothing ready for the annual half term trip to the slopes? That’s what’s happening in my household, at least. Today was my day for working out what still fits whom, what can be sold on (via WhoSki.com, of course!) and what new kit is required.

It’s now I remember that my daughter’s snowboots were a bit tight last year – and she’s also grown out of those salopettes she’s been wearing for the last two seasons. Sigh. Meanwhile, my son got a full outfit upgrade at the Ski Show (will he EVER stop growing?) as a thanks for helping out at the WhoSki.com chalet, so his #GoodAsNew jacket and ski pants combo is ready to sell on to another ski-keen teen.

Fixed-price instant sales mean there’s still time to sell

If you’re also having a ski kit clear-out, remember that there’s still time to get it sold before you head off next weekend. Our sales are fixed-price so you don’t have to wait for an auction to come to an end, and we are currently (launch offer) giving 100% of our commission (we charge 20% on every sale) to our teen mental health charity partner stem4.

Clear out your wardrobe, prevent still useable ski clothing from going to landfill AND do some good : what are you waiting for?

Remember too, when you return that you can save putting away the stuff you won’t be using again (maybe it’s too small or you’ve bought new kit in resort) by posting it for sale on WhoSki.com. Simply register, upload pics and details and click SELL.

You’ll be helping people who ski later in the season (universities often ski at Easter, for example) as well as the environment. Did you know that around 75% of clothing donated to charity shops fails to find a home?

Be a sustainable student skier

Your uni ski trip is coming up, and you’ve got a small budget and a large social conscience.
Take the easy route to skiing greener, keeping costs down and assuaging your eco guilt: buy your ski essentials SECONDHAND.
Here’s why it’s good for you AND good for the environment.

Keep wintersports clothing out of landfill

Fashion is the second most polluting industry IN THE WORLD (after oil), using vast amounts of water and raw materials to create – let’s face it – far more clothes than we will ever need. Most of them never sell. Many end up in landfill or incineration: a sustainability disaster.
Ski clothing, made of mixed materials (many non-biodegradable) and specialist coatings, is built to last. Yet many skiers and snowboarders wear pants and jacket for a single trip – perhaps they found skiing wasn’t for them, got injured or can’t afford another trip.
Others want a new look for every vacation. And some even buy multiple outfits to wear throughout the ONE week they are away. Yes, really: Instagram, you know? Themed dressing up days, you know?

Make money – do good!

Their waste is your gain – which is where WhoSki.com comes in. We are the dedicated peer-to-peer marketplace that ONLY sells wintersports wear. Focused market means better choice and easier to buy. And we give 10% of our commission on EVERY SALE to teen mental health charity stem4 – so you’re doing good at the same time.
Sustainable fashionistas say that we should all wear every item we own 30 TIMES in order to neutralize its carbon footprint. Tough when you only ski for six days a year – and are sick of the sight of that ski jacket you’ve worn every trip since you were 16.
But remember! A jacket that’s old to you will be new to someone else. So:

  • #PassItOn via WhoSki.com
  • Help keep textiles out of landfill, out of incineration and in circulation
  • Make Livia Firth happy – and cheer up Greta Thunberg too ?
  • Save yourself money (and boost your Folie Douce budget)

And once you’re back from the slopes, save space in your wardrobe and join the circular economy by putting your no longer needed ski and snowboard clothing up for sale – it will help other skiers AND mean you’re schlepping home with less stuff come the end of term.

Launch offer: we are donating 100% of our commission to charity

As WhoSki.com opens for the sale and purchase of secondhand ski clothing, we are FOR A LIMITED PERIOD diverting our commission so that it goes 100% directly to our partner teen mental health charity stem4.

That means, 20% on everything sold through our site will help foster the development of good mental health in teenagers through enhancing early understanding and awareness in individuals, their families, schools and the community, promoting shared early detection and signposting towards prompt action and intervention.

Normally, we donate 10% of our commission to Wimbledon-based stem4. But we have chosen to waive our takings for a limited time in order to give a well-deserved boost to this charity, which has already worked with 11.5k young people nationally since it was set up in 2011.

We believe that teenage mental health is the perfect partner for WhoSki.com, because those of us who ski know that being in the mountains is a brilliant way to escape the stresses of everyday life, enjoy the glorious mountain scenery, connect with nature and get a healthy workout.

Supporting stem4 is our way of sharing that feelgood factor and ensuring your pre-loved ski clothing provides benefits for those who can’t make it to the slopes – as well as those who can but need some extra support.

This is our first season as a peer-to-peer marketplace for secondhand ski and snowboard clothing, so we are keen to find out how we can make it easier to buy and sell used wintersports gear online. Keep in touch via twitter, Instagram and facebook and let us know your thoughts.

We want to see less clothing end up in landfill. Technical items like ski jackets are among the hardest items to recycle due to the mixed fabrics and coatings. Yet they are also among the most hardwearing. That’s why much secondhand ski clothing is literally as good as new, even after a few seasons of wear.

You are more likely to get sick of wearing the same salopettes year after year than see them wear out. WhoSki.com is your chance to pass on that used but barely worn clothing without suffering eco-guilt, and pick up something new (to you) to wear without creating #fastfashion fatigue.

What clothing is essential for a school ski trip?

For many people, the first time they even think about buying ski clothing is when their child is signed up for a school ski trip. You’ve paid for travel, tuition and accommodation, but how many of those items on the kit list do you really need to buy?

See above a genuine plea for help from a mum-friend just this week. The message thread continued…

ski trip message continued...

Hmm, yes: having the wrong kit could well be a factor!

No parent wants their child to be uncomfortable on the mountain, especially if you’re skiing with them (every ski parent will do everything they can to minimise small skier whingeing, right?), so making sure they’ve got the right clothing is essential.

If you’re not a ski parent, however, it can be hard to know what on that lengthy list of recommended school ski kit clothing is a must-have, and what you can skip buying or borrowing.

Here’s what I recommend, after almost two decades of skiing with children (from age 0 upwards):
MUST-HAVES:

  • warm, waterproof ski jacket and trousers or ski suit. You cannot ‘make do’ with non-specialist equipment here: waterproofing, flexible movement, pockets and padding will make for an all-round better ski experience.
  • mid-layer. This can be a simple fleece, but make sure it has a zip so the wearer can open and close according to weather and exertion
  • ski goggles. More protective than sunglasses, less easy to lose, warmer for the face on a cold day or when it is snowing.
  • ski gloves. Absolutely essential as cold hands are a source of misery for many. You might also want to throw in a pair of thin glove liners
  • ski socks. Longer than normal socks with heat-retaining qualities and the right padding in the right places, two pairs of ski socks for a week’s trip will be enough, provided your child puts them on the radiator to dry between wears.
  • snowboots. No child or adult should ever go skiing without a chunky pair of cosy, waterproof snowboots. They mean kids can play in the snow without getting frostbite of the toes, and adults can walk to the bar/supermarket/ski school pick-up point without slipping over. Wear them on the journey to cut down on luggage weight
  • slippers/Crocs. Aka footwear you can wear between bootroom and chalet/hotel room. The first sign you will see at the entrance to your accommodation will be: no outdoor footwear. Without slippers (ideally, something robust with a sturdy sole) your socks will quickly be soggy. Yuck.

NICE-TO-HAVES:

  • handwarmers. Keeping one of these in your pocket for those super-cold days can make a big difference, although there will be years when you don’t need them at all. Good news though: they don’t go off, so save them for next season if unused.
  • sunglasses. I would never go skiing without a pair in my pocket, but my kids have been known to stick with goggles whatever the weather. One less thing to lose, too!
  • thermal underwear. I always made sure my young kids wore thermals – and sometimes that was all they needed under their ski suits – but for teens, not essential.
  • helmet. Essential to wear, but easy to rent. You only really need to own one if you’re a habitual skier.
  • ski boots. As above: wait to buy them until you’ve got the ski bug.

Looking for ski clothes for your child’s next ski trip or school ski trip? Visit the WhoSki.com shop for pre-loved, good-as-new ski clothing at a fraction of the RRP.

Got children’s ski clothing that no longer fits? Pass it on via our preloved ski clothing marketplace.

We donate to charity on every sale.

Stars and public pledge support for WhoSki.com

What a stimulating, long weekend we have just enjoyed at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Festival in London’s Battersea Park.

Hundreds of visitors to the show stopped off at our chalet to find out more about how we plan to keep ski clothing out of landfill and in circulation. Our goal? To make it easier to sell on your pre-loved gear, and keep down the costs of looking good and staying warm and dry on the slopes. Remember: re-use beats recycle as the sustainable thing to do with no longer wanted clothes.

We very much enjoyed hearing your enthusiasm for giving your ski and snowboard habits an eco-boost, so we look forward to welcoming you to onto our peer-to-peer marketplace when we launch transactions in the coming weeks.

It was also inspiring to win support for our secondhand ski clothing resale concept from high-profile wintersports enthusiasts.

They included the legendary Graham Bell (Olympics, Ski Sunday), Woodsy (Olympic freestyle skier James Woods), Peter Speight (freestyle skier, two-time British champ, competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics), Jim Adlington (founder Planks Clothing, professional freestyle skier) and Neil McNair (professional snowboard coach).

Stars Peter Speight, Graham Bell, Woodsy, Jim Adlington, Sir Ranuloh Fiennes
Clockwise, from top left: Peter Speight, Graham Bell, Woodsy and Jim Adlington. Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes also gave us his seal of approval, signing our ‘I want to make skiing greener’ pledge, along with many, many more at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Festival.

Thanks to everyone who took time to visit our chalet, listen to our message and offer to use our soon-to-launch service. Watch this space! Sign up for our newsletter (below) to be kept informed.

Join WhoSki.com at the Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival

The circular economy goes skiing, as WhoSki.com brings sustainability to the winter sports industry at the UK’s biggest annual ski and snowboard fest during the October half-term holidays.

You’ll find our ‘start-up chalet’ (stand no OC23) in the Mountain Village, next to the fabulous Big Wheel, (and near the food) throughout this year’s Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival, which runs from Thursday October 24 to Sunday October 27, 2019.

Three reasons to visit the WhoSki.com Chalet:

1 BRING US YOUR PRE-LOVED SKI CLOTHING
Our NEW peer-to-peer online marketplace only sells winter sportswear, which is notoriously difficult to recycle because of its mixed materials and specialist coatings. That’s why most discarded ski clothing ends up either incinerated or in landfill: an environmental no-no.

We are making it easy to do the right thing with your pre-loved ski kit this Festival, with our on-site drop-off spot. Think green, declutter your wardrobe, bring your no-longer-wanted clothing and leave it with us.

2 WIN A WEEKEND BREAK
Visit our stand (no OC23) for the chance to WIN a winter weekend stay for up to four people in Shaftesbury, Dorset, at the stylish Barbers Cottage (barberscottage.co.uk): simply give us your name and email, or bring some pre-loved ski-wear.

3. SUPPORT TEENAGE MENTAL HEALTH
Don’t forget: 10% of our commission on everything sold via WhoSki.com goes straight to the teenage mental health charity stem4.

We believe that winter sports are a brilliant way to reduce stress, connect with nature and get a healthy workout. Partnering with stem4 is our way of sharing that feelgood factor and ensuring your pre-loved ski clothing provides benefits for those who can’t make it to the slopes.

Fun for all
The Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival is bursting with things to do this half-term for the whole family as well as DJ sessions in the evening for Gen Z. It’s an all-day and evening must-visit. Come along and say hello: we’d love to meet you!

3 reasons to sell with WhoSki

1 A proportion of our commission on EVERY SALE goes to support teenage mental health via our charity partner stem4. 

Among the reasons we love skiing are the fresh air, feeling of freedom, connection with nature and sheer joy of exercising at high altitude: all brilliant wellbeing boosters. That’s why when we were looking for a charity to support, we chose stem4 whose goal is to help foster good mental health in teenagers.

We guarantee that on every commission we earn, we pass on a percentage to stem4.

2 When 300,000 tonnes of textiles goes to landfill EVERY YEAR, surely it’s time to find a more sustainable way of dealing with no longer needed ski clothing?

Predictably, more than 99% of skiers own ski clothing (SkiClub of Great Britain consumer research), almost half of us buy at least one new piece of clothing every year, and 80% every two years. Those of us with kids know it’s a rare year when you don’t need to update their ski wardrobe. But when you give no longer wanted kit to the charity shop, be aware: the odds are it is trashed rather than re-sold.

Think sustainable: sell it on WhoSki instead and reduce the carbon footprint of your ski gear.    

3 It’s low cost and eco, so why not make this the season you update all or part of your ski wardrobe?

Resale value is the buzz-phrase among savvy fashion-lovers who no longer simply shop for clothes, but trade them in. It’s the way to feed your desire for a new look, while ticking the eco box, ensure your kids have got gear that fits but doesn’t cost a fortune. We all know: ski clothing is generally expensive to purchase, worn for a week a year and much of it shows little or no signs of damage.

So whether you’re a piste fashionista or a ski mum looking to clothe the kids, visit the WhoSki.com marketplace to exchange last year’s gear for a guilt-free outfit update.   

Why your brand should be on WhoSki

Want to see your brand’s clothing feature on WhoSki? We’d love to hear from you: please get in touch! Here’s why we should be working together:

1 Improve your carbon footprint:
There’s a lot of disapproval of established clothing industry practices. Headlines about unsold or end of range items being incinerated or dumped has put fashion sustainability under the microscope. Politicians are starting to mutter about taxation of throw-away fashion brands as a “vice” industry.
Partnering with WhoSki to encourage customers to recycle rather than throw away unwanted ski clothing helps boost your eco profile. 

2 Tick the CSR box:
Let us help you raise your ‘goodness’ quotient. Why not encourage customers to do something sustainable with no-longer-wanted clothing items? We will help #passiton to a new owner. Plus: We give a proportion of our commission on every sale to charity.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help boost your brand’s efforts in the circular economy.

3 Help skiers look good on the slopes every year, guilt-free:
Just over a million Brits enjoy at least one ski trip every year; who wants to be on Instagram wearing the same jacket as last season? Whose ski kids fit the same snowsuit and snowboots as last year? We help skiers re-sell their nearly-new clothing, leaving space in the wardobe for a new look.
Work with us to liberate used ski gear, build the ski fashion sector while ensuring sustainability.

Destroying clothing should not be common practice

Destroying clothing that goes unsold is common practice. Burberry was name-shamed for it, ditto Hermès. Amazon is said to be a major culprit, and even H&M has faced criticism for burning items it could not shift (although the brand says that incineration has been rare – and now it has textile collection bins in stores. We approve.).

Some 4 MILLION tons of new or used textiles are thrown away every year in Europe. That’s why France has decided to take action on this wasteful practice, banning brands from destroying unsold items. Other countries are tipped to be considering following suit.

Greenpeace has called on the fashion industry to think long and hard about its carbon footprint.

So what’s going to happen to all those items that don’t sell, yet can’t be scrapped? Keep an eye on WhoSki.com as we have an idea of what can happen to end of stock, unsold wintersports clothing, at least…

Circular economy: exciting. Government response: disappointing

The excitement of last week’s festival of the circular economy in London was tempered today by the Government’s announcement it would not be intervening to discourage wasteful practices in the fashion industry.

Despite recommendations from Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee to bring in a levy on clothing sales to help tackle environmental damage and encourage circular economy practices, ministers decided to “encourage” rather than legislate to ensure fashion companies do the right thing.

Circular Economy Week

The decision comes in the wake of a week of activity organised by the London Waste and Recycling Board to celebrate and boost the city’s circular economy sector.  We at WhoSki.com were delighted to take part, share our story, learn from others operating in this vibrant sector, and connect with likeminded entrepreneurs whose goal is to help deliver a resilient, resource-efficient community.

There is a huge bank of energy, talent and enthusiasm in the circular economy sector. There is also a massive desire to curb – and harness – the waste generated by this country’s 66 million inhabitants.

Re-use in the ski sector

Our business, building a peer-to-peer marketplace for preloved ski clothing, is a mere drop in the ocean compared with the massive challenge facing the fashion industry which consumes globe-threatening amounts of resources and creates literal mountains of waste.

By targeting the ski clothing industry, we are making a tiny difference to the fashion industry’s problem of waste and over-production. But we believe it is a valuable one. Specialist outdoors clothing such as ski wear is made of multiple materials, making it particularly difficult to recycle. Manmade fibres also break down extremely slowly – if ever. Re-use will always be the eco approach, as well as the low-cost way to revamp your ski wardrobe. A fresh look on the slopes without breaking the bank or condemning unwanted but still serviceable clothing to landfill: that is our aim.

#PassItOn

Even though the UK Government is unwilling to force change, we are confident that retailers and manufacturers will want to do the right thing.

WhoSki.com is the place where you can pass on your end of line, out of season or returned winter sports wear for re-use by within a dedicated community of skiers. Consumers will respect your sustainable fashion credentials, spread the word about your corporate efforts to end wasteful practices and act as advocates for your brand. #PassItOn

Retailers! Team up with WhoSki to re-use, recycle

We are actively looking for retail partners to help us grow the circular economy in ski wear. Read on to find out why it is in everyone’s interest to get involved.

Retailers in France have been warned to make sure that unsold clothing is sent for re-use or recycling in a bid to curb wasteful practices in the fashion industry. The ban on destroying clothing and other items comes after it emerged that more than £576m of new consumer products were discarded in France EVERY YEAR by the businesses selling them.

How long until similar legislation making stores responsible for their unsold or discarded stock is adopted in the UK?

Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee recently reported on the British fashion industry, and it wasn’t pretty. The Government is already thinking about taxing clothing companies that fail to adopt the circularity model.

They want to see less fashion waste, more recycling, and retailers taking responsibility both for the provenance of the materials they use AND what happens to their clothing after it is sold or comes off the rack.

As far as ski and wintersports clothing is concerned, that’s where WhoSki.com comes in. (You can thank us later, retailers)

Re-use beats recycle

Re-use is always going to be more eco than recycle, as less energy and fewer materials are involved. Think bottle returns: washing out and reusing a glass pop bottle is more environmentally friendly than having to dispose of a plastic one.

Back in the day, kids used to supplement their pocket money by collecting bottles and returning them to the corner shop for coppers. We didn’t call it the ‘circular economy’ but that is exactly what it was.

A circular economy for ski wear

The same principle applies to ski clothing. There are piles of it in warehouses, stores, discount shops that our online marketplace WhoSki.com can help sell on, thus cutting its carbon footprint by ensuring that the raw materials and energy that went into its creation do not go to waste.

We aim to work with ski shops and manufacturers around the UK, taking pre-loved, unwanted ski gear and making sure it gets re-used rather than dumped. Wake up to the change that is coming: do the right thing now or there will be legislation to make you do it. It is simply a matter of time.

Recycling facilities drive footfall

Does encouraging people to pass on their used but serviceable ski wear mean retailers will suffer? Think about it: by establishing a used-clothing drop-off facility and promoting it as a green initiative you will in fact be encouraging people to visit your store.

Some 25% of people are likely to buy something at a shop when dropping off items for re-use or recycling, so joining us in the circular economy actually drives footfall. You collect the pre-loved ski clothing then we will take it off your hands, and ensure it is recommerced on WhoSki.com.

Result? The clothing item enjoys an extended life, the owner gets to refresh their ski look, guilt-free, and the retailer ticks the CSR-box and gains valuable PR.

Sounds good? We are actively looking for retail partners to help us grow the circular economy in ski wear, so get in touch and let’s get together help make ski fashion circular.