Sustainability

Our Mission Remains Critical: Replace Fossil-Based Materials with Biobased Alternatives to Provide Meaningful Solutions for Both the Planet and Players

Here’s why our commitment to sustainable, high-performance hockey sticks is more crucial than ever:

 1. High CO2 Emissions
 Traditional carbon composite sticks have a significant carbon footprint, primarily due to the energy-intensive processes and fossil-based materials used in their production. The manufacturing of carbon fibers and epoxy resins involves high temperatures and complex chemical reactions that consume large amounts of energy and release substantial greenhouse gases.
Impact: The estimated global production of carbon composite sticks generates over 50,700 metric tons of CO2 annually.

Our Solution: Biobased Materials
 We aim to reduce these emissions by incorporating biobased materials such as bio and hybrid fibers and bio-resins, which are derived from renewable sources and require less energy to produce. These materials not only cut down on CO2 emissions but also contribute to a more sustainable production process overall.

 2. Non-Recyclable Materials
Most conventional hockey sticks are made from fossil-based materials like carbon fibers and epoxy resins that are difficult or impossible to recycle. Once a stick breaks or wears out, it typically ends up in a landfill. Given their durable nature, these materials decompose very slowly, posing long-term environmental hazards.
Impact: Approximately 70% of carbon composite sticks are discarded into landfills, equating to over 2.5 million sticks annually. This results in more than 1,230 tonnes of waste that could take centuries to break down, effectively lasting indefinitely.

Our Solution:Renewable Materials
Our goal is to use renewable, biobased materials that are easier to repurpose or degrade. This not only helps in reducing landfill waste but also opens up opportunities for creating a circular economy within the hockey industry. While our biobased sticks aren’t fully biodegradable (yet), they decompose faster and are less harmful when they do reach the end of their lifecycle.

Addressing Durability, Cost, and Lack of Eco Friendly-Options

Durability 
While ultra-light carbon composite sticks excel in performance, they often compromise on durability. The quest to make sticks as light as possible results in thinner, more fragile constructions that break easily under the pressures of gameplay. This leads to frequent replacements, which are not only a financial burden for players but also contribute significantly to environmental waste.

Our Solution: We design biobased sticks that balance weight and strength. By incorporating advanced shaft geometry and newest hybrid fibres (50% biobased) we create sticks that are lightweight yet robust. This reduces the need for frequent replacements, saving players money and reducing the environmental impact of discarded sticks.

Affordability
Carbon composite hockey sticks are pricey due to several key factors. Firstly, major brands spend heavily on marketing, including sponsorships and advertising, which raises the retail price. Secondly, these sticks are primarily manufactured in Asia, leading to significant transportation costs when shipped globally. Lastly, the industry's oligopolistic market structure allows a few large companies to maintain high prices and large profit margins, limiting affordable alternatives.

Our Solution: Good Wood Hockey is committed to offering high-quality, sustainable hockey sticks at a more accessible price point. By reducing marketing overhead, localizing our manufacturing, and challenging the market norms, we strive to provide affordable options without compromising on sustainability. 

The Lack of Eco-Friendly Options
The market currently lacks hockey sticks that are both eco-friendly and capable of high performance in terms of weight and flex. Most available options either fall short in their environmental credentials or fail to deliver the level of performance demanded by players.

Our Vision: We are pioneering the development of hockey sticks that combine renewable and biobased materials with top performance. Our mission is to fill this gap in the market by creating sticks that players can rely on for both their game and their commitment to sustainability. We believe that eco-friendly hockey equipment shouldn’t compromise on quality or performance, and we are dedicated to proving this through our products.

Road Ahead

Further innovation trough collaboration with Universites and Industry

In our quest to continually improve, we’ve connected with the University of Applied Sciences Berne, a leader in sustainable materials research. The recent study conducted by the students of the facultiy  unveiled an innovative shaft construction with the potential to significantly reduce the weight of our sticks while increasing their durability. Even more exciting is the potential to replace more fossil-based materials with new biobased and/or hybrid (mixing carbon with bio based fibres), pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in sustainable sports equipment. Premilariny findings of these new devlopments point to a CO2 emssion reduction potetnail of over 80% (vs. carbon composite sticks) and to products were biobased materials make upto 85%-90%

Accelerating Our Mission

As we celebrate our first year in business, it’s clear that our mission to provide sustainable hockey sticks is more critical than ever. The stark realities of annual emissions and waste from carbon composite sticks highlight the urgent need for change in the industry. That’s why we are significantly increasing spending in R&D to research new materials and technologies, focusing on brand positioning to communicate our values and mission effectively, broadening our product range to offer more sustainable choices, and investing in education to raise awareness about the environmental impact of traditional hockey equipment. These strategic steps are essential as we strive to lead the way in transforming the hockey industry towards a more sustainable future.