Eco-friendly hot tubs and Earth Day: How Hot Spring Spas honors 50 years of environmental action
April 20, 2026
April marks a monumental milestone: the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Half a century ago, millions of people gathered to demand a healthier, more sustainable planet. That collective action sparked a movement that transformed how we view our relationship with the environment.
As we reflect on this golden anniversary, the focus naturally shifts to our daily lives. How can we continue this legacy? You might be surprised to learn that even significant purchases, like adding a hot tub to your backyard, offer opportunities to make responsible, eco-friendly choices.
At Olympic, we’re fans of Earth Day! So, we thought this would be a great opportunity to explore the rich history of Earth Day, examine how consumer choices drive environmental change, and look at why Hot Spring Spas, the brand we’ve partnered with since 1982, stands out as the premier environmentally friendly hot tub for buyers.
The history of Earth Day: How it all began in 1970
Before 1970, a factory could pump black clouds of toxic smoke into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream with few legal consequences. Air pollution was widely accepted as the smell of prosperity. However, the devastating 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, changed public perception.
Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin harnessed this emerging public consciousness. He announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, scheduling it for April 22, 1970. The response was overwhelming. Across the United States, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. This massive alignment eventually led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.
Why Earth Day still matters
Fifty years later, the mission remains critical. While we have made massive strides in reducing certain types of pollution, we face new challenges. Greenhouse gas emissions, water conservation, and overflowing landfills require our immediate attention.
The good news is that power has shifted significantly toward the consumer. Every purchase you make sends a signal to manufacturers about what you value. By choosing sustainable products, you directly participate in the ongoing Earth Day mission.
Bringing sustainability home
We as consumers make dozens of choices every week that impact the planet. Bringing reusable bags to the grocery store, composting kitchen scraps, and installing LED light bulbs all add up. But what happens when you decide to make a major home investment?
Olympic Hot Tub knows all too well the dream of relaxing in a backyard hot tub! Historically, people viewed hot tubs as energy-draining, water-wasting luxury items. Fortunately, innovation, led largely by Watkins Wellness, the manufacturer of Hot Spring Spas, has transformed the industry. Today, a sustainable hot tub is not only possible, it’s the smarter choice. You no longer have to choose between personal wellness and environmental responsibility!
Hot Spring Spas: The eco-friendly hot tub choice
When you decide to invest in a hot tub, selecting a brand committed to environmental stewardship makes all the difference. Hot Spring Spas has spent decades engineering solutions that reduce environmental impact without sacrificing your soaking experience. Here is how they lead the industry in sustainability.
Building with recycled polymers
Manufacturing a large appliance requires significant resources. Hot Spring Spas tackles this challenge right at the foundation. They incorporate recycled polymers into the construction of their hot tubs. By repurposing plastics that would otherwise sit in a landfill, they reduce the demand for virgin materials. This manufacturing process lowers their carbon footprint and keeps synthetic waste out of natural ecosystems.
Saving water with the FreshWater Salt System
Water conservation represents a major pillar of environmental protection. Traditional hot tubs require owners to drain and refill your tub every three to four months to maintain sanitary conditions, which is a significant amount of water. Over the lifespan of a tub, this wastes thousands of gallons of clean water.
Hot Spring Spas revolutionized water care with their FreshWater Salt System. This innovative technology uses a titanium cartridge to generate chlorine from salt naturally. The system keeps water clean, clear, and sanitized for up to a full year before requiring a drain and refill. Over a decade of ownership, you save thousands of gallons of water. Additionally, the salt cartridges themselves are fully recyclable, preventing further waste. You’re also using far less bottled water care products to maintain the water, eliminating some of the need for manufacturing plastic bottles.
Energy efficiency that exceeds standards
Heating water and keeping it circulating traditionally consumes a lot of electricity. High energy consumption leads directly to increased greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Hot Spring Spas engineers their tubs to exceed stringent energy requirements. They provide documented operating costs, offering total transparency about your energy usage. A key component of this efficiency is their dedicated circulation pump. Unlike standard pumps that draw heavy currents, this continuous-duty pump uses less power than a standard 40-watt light bulb. It continuously heats and cleans the water, maintaining the perfect temperature with an incredibly low energy draw. Furthermore, their high-density insulation traps that heat inside, preventing energy waste.
Built to last: The 20-Year Parts Guarantee
Planned obsolescence plagues modern manufacturing. Companies often build products designed to fail after a few years, forcing you to buy replacements. Discarded appliances quickly fill up landfills and require more energy to produce new units.
Hot Spring Spas takes a radically different approach. They offer a 20-year parts guarantee for their hot tubs. This guarantee provides far more than just peace of mind for your wallet. It serves as a clear indicator that, with proper care, they build tubs intended to last significantly longer than other options on the market. When you buy a product that lasts two or three times longer than the competition, you dramatically reduce waste. Fewer broken tubs end up in landfills, and you cut down on the greenhouse gases generated by manufacturing and shipping replacement units.
Honoring the Earth Day spirit every day
The 50th anniversary of Earth Day reminds us that big changes start with individual actions. We all hold the power to shape the future through the products we invite into our homes!
By prioritizing companies that value the environment, you help drive the market toward sustainability. Choosing an an eco friendly hot tub like a Hot Spring Spa means you can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of warm water hydrotherapy while knowing you minimized your environmental footprint. You conserve water, reduce energy consumption, keep plastics out of landfills, and support durable manufacturing.
Make your next major home purchase a green one! Research the sustainable practices of the brands you buy, demand transparency, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from living in harmony with the planet.
And…if you’re ready for an amazing hot tub, Olympic Hot Tub is ready to help!