The Dirty Secret Behind Climbing Holds: Nobody Wants to Talk About All That Plastic
Indoor climbing gyms are obsessed with sustainability. Walk into any climbing gym and you're immediately greeted by:
- Compost bins (that nobody sorts correctly)
- Giant "WE'RE ECO-FRIENDLY" posters
- Passive-aggressive signs about reusable water bottles
- Refillable chalk stations (WTF?)
- Some kind of sustainability pledge gathering dust by the front desk
And don't even get me started on the pressure these gyms put on brands like us. They want recyclable packaging, biodegradable everything, "responsibly sourced" materials—the works. Fine. Whatever. We do it.
But here's the thing nobody wants to admit:
Those brightly colored climbing holds covering every wall? They're basically petroleum wrapped in good vibes.
Not "partly" petroleum. Not "eco with a few compromises." We're talking 70–100% straight-up oil-derived plastic. Talk about HYPOCRITES!
What Are Climbing Holds Actually Made Of?
1. Polyurethane (PU) — The industry standard
About 90% of modern holds are polyurethane. They're everywhere.
What goes into them?
- Isocyanates (MDI) – fancy word for petrochemical
- Polyols – also petrochemical
- Pigments and dyes – yep, petrochemical
- Fillers like silica and microballoons
- Thickening agents (surprise! also petroleum-derived)
PU holds are light, strong, last forever—all great qualities. But let's call it what it is:
A polyurethane climbing hold is literally a chunk of oil that got turned into plastic.
2. Polyester Resin (PE) — The old guard, somehow worse
These were the standard for decades and they're still kicking around.
Made from:
- Unsaturated polyester resin (petroleum)
- Styrene (petroleum)
- MEKP catalyst (a hazardous petrochemical)
- Sand, quartz, random fillers
Oh, and they cure while releasing VOCs into the air and eventually break down into microplastics. Rad.
3. Fiberglass Volumes — Big, hollow, still petroleum
Those massive colorful shapes jutting out from the wall?
- Fiberglass cloth (glass + petroleum binders)
- Epoxy or polyester resin (petroleum)
- Gel coat (petroleum)
They look harmless. They're not.
So What's the Big Deal?
Because the climbing industry won't shut up about how green it is. And EVEN WORSE, they make a big deal out of the rosin in our liquid chalk (which is 100% natural).
Meanwhile, those same gyms are bolting 5–15 tons of petrochemical plastic to their walls and swapping it out every couple years.
And when holds wear out they don't get recycled. There's no magical hold-to-hold circular economy. They go straight to the landfill. The biggest polluter in the room is the one nobody's talking about.
Oh, and There's the Toxicity Thing
Making PU and PE holds isn't exactly a walk in the park. Production requires industrial ventilation systems, respirators for workers, full PPE, & hazardous waste protocols.
Even after the holds cure and get bolted up, they shed microplastics every time they chip or get worn down by shoe rubber.
But sure, let's keep grilling chalk companies about their packaging.
Indoor Climbing Has a Massive Blind Spot
Look, I'm not saying we should burn the industry down or boycott holds. That's ridiculous.
I'm saying let's at least be honest and consistent.
If you're going to demand eco-friendly packaging from chalk brands and gear companies, maybe—just maybe—you should also acknowledge the environmental footprint of the thing climbers touch 500 times per session.
Final Thoughts
At Spider Chalk, we're kind of nerds about materials. Pure magnesium carbonate, zero contaminants, clean formulas, full transparency—that's our thing.
And the deeper you go into materials science, the clearer this becomes:
Indoor climbing runs on petrochemical hardware.
It's brightly colored. Beautifully sculpted. Creatively designed.
But plastic is plastic.
If the climbing community actually wants sustainability—not the Instagram version, but the real kind—it has to start with the holds themselves not just chalk bags and water bottles.
Until that happens the sport's eco-rhetoric is just virtue signaling.