Commitment to the Environment

As a wood paddle company we do our best to use wood in a sustainable manner. The wood for our paddles is harvested from the property we live and work on through the Managed Forest Program. This allows us to improve the quality of the surrounding forest while guaranteeing a supply of high quality lumber for paddle making.

The use of laminates is also a way to reduce lumber use, allowing smaller pieces and off cuts to be used. Laminates also have the added advantage of being aesthetically pleasing and allow a mix of hard and soft woods for durability, stiffness and light weight.

Putting our money and much sweat where
our mouth is, the new Echo Paddles workshop is an off grid, passive solar straw bale workshop that was completed in the fall of 2006. We power all of our woodworking equipment with solar panels and a backup diesel generator that runs on veggie oil.

Natural light and keeping a close watch on our energy usage has allowed us to transition to the new workshop without a hitch- and, it's a real pleasure working in such a great building!

For further information on this project please see Our Shop.

Finally, Echo Paddles stands by its products, keeping them on the water for a good long time. This is probably the best environmental practice we can engage in- keeping you on the water with your paddle!