Bennett chose bamboo for the core of Slant skis because of its strength, lightness and sustainable properties. Bamboo grows faster than hardwood trees and produces oxygen as it grows.

“I was looking for something different, trying to think outside the box with ski cores,” Bennett says. “Some people are skeptical at first… but when they ride the skis, they’re believers.”

Bennett goes beyond using earth-friendly materials. For each pair of Slant skis sold, the company donates $10 to carbonfund.org. The donations help purchase carbon offsets, which give the buyer rights to emissions reductions. Other groups will buy these offsets and sell them or use them to pollute. The Carbon Fund retires the carbon offsets it buys, reducing the overall production of greenhouse gases and slowing global warming. “We want to have cold weather for years and years to come, and we want to do whatever we can to see that happen,” Bennett says.