BOULDER - Crescent Moon, a Boulder-based manufacturer of snowshoes, poles and accessories, has created a line of snowshoes made with materials that contain no polyvinyl chloride.

Crescent Moon founders Jake Thamm and wife, Tamara Laug, wanted to create a snowshoe that is more environmentally friendly. Polyvinyl chloride is one of the most widely used plastics and is found in a wide range of consumer products such as bottles, credit cards, audio records and construction materials. Production of PVC releases the toxic chemical dioxin and leaks harmful additives during disposal.

"Tamara was really committed to putting us in an environmentally considerate position and researched new materials for over a year," Jake Thamm said. "We felt very strongly that we're in the outdoor industry and wanted to do the right thing for the environment."

The couple has implemented a green program throughout its entire company. In both its factory and office, employees recycle everything possible, including aluminum, stainless steel, cardboard and office materials and use 100 percent wind-powered energy.

The company now has 10 employees, and its snowshoes are distributed throughout the U.S., Canada, Austria, Sweden and Norway and even in Australia, which has a short ski and snowshoe season.