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It’s hard work to design an eco-friendly shoe.
The design team must compare the pros and cons of hundreds of materials. They will contact and visit dozens of suppliers in many different parts of the world. It is necessary to have a plan for what happens to the shoe at the end of its life. They have to balance costs, so that the finished shoe is not too expensive.
Most shoe brands on the market don’t prioritize sustainability, which is why a decade-old brand called Thesus is open-sourcing the entire design of their popular eco-friendly Weekend Boot. The company gives potential collaborators and competitors access to a list of materials and suppliers, as well as mapping their ecosystem, and even how much they paid at each step.
“We’ve done a lot of deep thinking about the best way to make this shoe, and the best way for us to make an impact is to give all this work to the industry,” says Sophie Khawaja, co-founder and CEO of Thesus.
When Khawaja launched Thesus (formerly Alice + Whittles) with her husband in 2014, they had spent years developing a wellington boot made largely of rubber, a natural material that is more sustainable than the plastic that most rain boots are made of.
But instead of just working with suppliers, Khawaja uprooted her family to Sri Lanka, so they could better understand the rubber production process as well as how workers in the supply chain are treated. “We felt it was important to be located where the product is made,” she says. “Otherwise you have no idea what is happening on the ground. You cannot take other people’s words seriously.
[Photo: Thesus]
Three years ago, Khawaja launched the Weekend Boot, a rain and snow-resistant boot designed for hiking and everyday wear. Since its launch, the company has sold $3 million worth of them. “We believe that sustainable design means creating products that can be versatile and durable,” she says.
This time, she and her family moved to Portugal, where there are many shoe manufacturers that focus on sustainability. The shoe is made from 96% renewable and recycled materials. The upper is made of recycled plastic, collected from the oceans. The interior is made of recycled nylon, and the middle upper is made of recycled plastic that comes from car dashboards. It uses only water-based adhesives, rather than those containing toxic chemicals, and does not use any PFAS, which are toxic chemicals often used in waterproofing.
It is worth noting that not all sustainability advocates support the use of plastic, even if it is recycled. Recycled plastic does not decompose at the end of its life; Instead, they will end up in a landfill where they will slowly decompose into tiny particles called microplastics that end up in our oceans, harming humans and animals.
Right now, Theseus doesn’t have an end-of-life solution for his shoes. So, when the customer is done wearing it, they have no choice but to throw it away.
[Photo: Thesus]
Some sustainably oriented shoe brands that use plastic are trying to keep their shoes out of landfills by recycling them at the end of their life. For example, Rothy’s makes all of its shoes from recycled plastic bottles. He now recovers old shoes and recycles them back into new shoes. Many sneaker brands, including On and Adidas, will restore old shoes, cut them up, and turn them into new shoes. For three decades, Nike has reclaimed its old shoes and recycled them to create stadium flooring, fitness equipment and trackways.
Other shoe brands use non-plastic materials when possible, so they will biodegrade at the end of their life: Allbirds uses wool and tree fibers in the shoe’s uppers; Cariuma uses recycled fabric, leather and rubber.
However, the design of the Theseus shoe is considered more environmentally friendly than many other shoes produced today. The company wants to make it easier for other brands to effectively steal its ideas. Khawaja and her partners wrote an open letter, inviting other industry players to access a document containing a complete list of the brand’s producers, material suppliers, and design thinking.
Now, she’s hoping other big eco-friendly companies, like REI and Patagonia, will use all this knowledge to make their own shoes. “We hope they will do this in partnership with us, through collaboration, but that is not a requirement,” she says. “We just want to accelerate these ideas.”
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