EcoSki has teamed up with Hotelplan, owner of Inghams, Esprit and Santa’s Lapland, as part of the winter travel company’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

The partnership is part of Hotelplan’s drive to encourage skiers, snowboarders, staff and winter holidaymakers to rethink their ownership of winter clothing and consider moving towards a more circular economy — renting, repairing and sharing instead of buying new.

Hotelplan said in a statement while launching its sustainability strategy: “We’re not green yet, but we’re doing what we can to stop the slopes getting greener.”

Under the agreement, holidaymakers who book with Inghams, Esprit and Santa’s Lapland will be given generous discount codes to encourage them to rent ski clothing rather than buy. A smaller discount will be offered for ski kit they buy via EcoSki — which offers a carefully curated selection of brands that manufacture ski kit that is more socially and environmentally sustainable.

EcoSki founder Rachael Westbrook and EcoSki ambassador Chemmy Alcott will also deliver webinars to Hotelplan staff and customers to educate winter sports lovers on the challenges facing the industry, encourage less waste and how to make more sustainable choices.

The partnership was one of a raft of measures announced today by Hotelplan, which last year appointed a UK head of sustainability, Prue Stone. Other commitments unveiled include offsetting flights using verifiable carbon credits, taking the Protect Our Winters (POW) Pledge and supporting the charity as well as two rewilding projects to restore ecosystems. These plans are part of a company-wide sustainability strategy to improve working practices across Hotelplan that will benefit both the community and the environment.

EcoSki founder Rachael Westbrook said the partnership was “more than simply providing people with a discount code” to rent ski kit.

“We’re not green yet, but we’re doing what we can to stop the slopes getting greener”
Hotelplan UK head of sustainability
Prue Stone

Hotelplan really wants to lead the way, and encourage customers to rent instead of buy. We are delighted that they believe in the EcoSki mission and are so genuine about wanting to make a difference — which was obvious from the outset,” said Rachael.

“I’m really impressed with Hotelplan’s goals and that they want to encourage all customers to stop and think about the ingredients in their clothing and question whether they really need to buy new. Being able to use their platform and voice to encourage this change, reduce waste and unnecessary purchases as well as encourage secondhand use and repair is a dream come true for me.”

Prue Stone, Hotelplan’s UK head of sustainability said the company was building “really meaningful relationships” with community-led experts, learning from them and actively transitioning Hotelplan’s product and mindset.

“We are proud to be taking our first steps into the circular economy by transforming how we think about uniform and clothing, away from the norm of fast fashion and waste” said Prue, who is also taking a team from Hotelplan, by train, to core destinations to meet local communities and hear about projects that are leading in this space and see how we can support them and scale the changes that are needed.

She added: “We have a long way to go to create the perfect product, the perfect business, but these coming months and years will be fast paced and exciting.”