At Bigwood Sporting Goods we believe in transparency and partnering with the best possible material sources and value based organizations. Here is a list of who we currently work with every step of the way and links to more information.
When you buy a paddle from us, one dollar of the sale gets donated to One Tree Planted, which equates to them planting one tree in one of their many reforestation efforts. We love their mission and believe it is integral to our success to support the mission of reforestation globally.
We love trees and we don't want any bit of one to go to waste, so we collect our sawdust and shavings throughout the manufacturing process. The wonderful Midtown Composting collects our wood waste and turns it into compost alongside food waste collected from homes around Detroit. The compost then goes to fuel gardens and farms in Detroit.
We want our packaging to embody the same values as our products. We work with EcoEnclose to source all packaging (including labels, tape, and stamp ink) that are as easy to recycle as possible, and made from natural sources with as much recycled content as possible.
All of our paddles get finished with an amazing product from EcoSafetyProducts. Making something out of wood is not inherently eco-conscious, and far too many wood products today are sealed in toxic epoxies or coated in polyurethane - meaning they no longer break down easily and contribute toxins to the environment during their end of life cycle. We think the products offered by EcoSafetyProducts are an amazing revolution and we are proud to use their finish.
We know leather is a touchy subject, and many consumers who are eco conscious are also vegan. After investigating every possible option, we believe that making our grips from leather has the greatest overall positive environmental impact. To save the animals we have to save the planet, and we think humans' plastic addiction is the biggest problem to tackle. So we found a reliable and transparent source of North American vegetable tanned leather, and we are proud to make all of our leather components from Chahin Leather sourced through American Leather Direct.
If you have questions about any of our materials or partners, please reach out, we would be happy to talk to you.