So let’s first talk about the manufacturing process! The production of footwear 👟 is complex as I’m sure you know! Most materials like leather & rubber comes from resource intensive industries, resulting in deforestation, habit destruction and heavy chemical usage. In addition, the energy ⚡️it takes to produce shoes is intensive and generates greenhouse gas emissions🏭. One pair of shoes can produce a significant carbon footprint 👣.

The choice of materials is crucial! Eg, leather is linked to the meat industry- methane emissions🐄. Synthetic materials contribute to plastic pollution and even recycled materials♻️, even though more sustainable can have a energy intensive process. 

With fast fashion, there is a development thought of disposable footwear, shoes that are designed for short term wear due to quick trend changes, often these are made with low quality materials which in turn has created the “throwaway culture”🚮. As we know this contributes to waste, and the cog of manufacturing helping the negative cycle. 

At the end of a shoes life cycle, shoes end up in landfill where they decompose incredibly slow. Synthetic materials can take decades, even centuries  to break down which in turn releases micro plastics and toxins into the environment 🌎. This can have a devastating effect on soil, water pollution and poses a threat to wildlife🐼.

Don’t get me wrong, brands are taking steps towards this, using alternative materials such as mushroom leather🍄, recycled plastics, organic cotton and cork. Also the introduction of mass 3D printing 🖨️ and waterless dyeing, repairing and like us cleaning shoes 🧼👟🥾👠👢 which extends the lifespan of the shoes for a considerable amount of time, months to years depending on how you wear them and how many times you clean them. 

The above innovations are incredibly important but the key 🔑 is a circular footwear model which is what we are all about. By cleaning, recycling and reselling shoes this minimises the overall environmental impact of manufacturing shoes greatly and you can do this all in our store!

Thank you for reading and please share!