CSR & Sustainability – Page 2
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ArticleCoats Footwear joins forces with Lenzing
Coats Footwear has entered a collaboration with the Austrian-based Lenzing Group to create the footwear industry’s first synthetic-free engineered uppers and fabrics. The companies have combined Coats Footwear’s ProWeave technology with Lenzing’s Tencel Lyocell Filament to create a “dynamic re-imagined footwear uppers and fabrics, which combine sustainability and performance ...
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ArticleWhy footwear brands are reluctant to be fully transparent about the supply chain despite client demand
Consumer demand for traceability in the footwear supply chain is here to stay but many brands around the world are still failing to pay enough attention to the trend, according to Bruno Venditti, chief operating officer of the Italian digital product passport start-up Blockvision. In an interview with Shoe Intelligence, ...
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ArticleCanada probes Walmart, Hugo Boss, Diesel for alleged use of Uyghur forced labor
The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) will launch investigations regarding the alleged use of Uyghur forced labor in China by the Canadian units of Walmart, Hugo Boss and Diesel. CORE has published initial assessment reports regarding complaints about Walmart Canada, Hugo Boss Canada and Diesel Canada for allegedly benefitting ...
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ArticleHow Portugal is planning to spend €120m to boost its footwear industry
Portuguese footwear producers are working on two projects to modernize the country’s industry with critical financing provided by Portugal’s recovery plan. The Agile, Intelligent, Sustainable and Technological Factory (FAIST) and the BioShoes4All projects rely on funds from Portugal’s €16 billion Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), part of the European Union’s ...
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ArticleAllbirds is giving away the secrets of its net-zero shoe
Allbirds has released the details of its net zero carbon shoe, M0.0NSHOT, and, in a bid to encourage competitors to create their own version, is giving away its entire methodology. M0.0NSHOT, set to launch commercially in spring 2024, is a high-top shoe wrapped in carbon-negative regenerative wool. The midsole features ...
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ArticleHow an Italian startup is working with the fashion industry to promote upcycling
The mission is simple: to give value to end-of-life products by introducing designer collections deriving from the creative reuse of second-hand clothing and discarded textiles cuttings. Appcycled was born with this purpose two years ago. It was founded by three young people eager to promote upcycling in the fashion industry. ...
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ArticleJEMS by Pensole shoe factory inaugurated
On March 20, Designer Brands, the parent of the shoe retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, inaugurated, along with Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC), JEMS by Pensole, one of the first Black-owned footwear factories in the United States. The facility is located in Somersworth, New Hampshire. JEMS stands ...
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ArticleFrance introduces new anti-greenwashing rules
As part of its legislative arsenal to combat climate change, the French government has now introduced the next stage of its anti-greenwashing legislation, effective January 1, 2023. The new rules are a major step in controlling advertising claims on carbon offsetting and carbon neutrality, following laws that came into effect ...
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ArticleOpportunities and challenges arise for fashion brands as consumers embrace sustainability
A consumer shift towards sustainable products and production practices is creating key opportunities and new challenges for global fashion brands, a Bain & Company and WWF Italy report found. The study examines consumer behaviors related to sustainability and fashion, surveying 5,900 consumers across six countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, ...
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ArticleBalena launches fully biodegradable slides
Balena has launched fully-biodegradable slippers called BioCir Slides colored and scented using natural cinnamon. The Israeli material science company founded in 2020 with offices in Tel Aviv and Milan develops compostable and biodegradale thermoplastic materials. The shoes are designed and manufactured in Italy and made entirely of BioCir, a proprietary ...
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ArticleEU institutions reach preliminary deal to combat deforestation
The European Parliament and the European Council have reached a provisional agreement to introduce regulation to establish deforestation-free supply chains in the European Union. The products affected by the proposed legislation include leather, timber and paper. “Once adopted and applied, the new law will ensure that a set of key ...
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ArticleExpo Riva Schuh aims to reach industry-wide principles on traceability
Expo Riva Schuh & Gardabags aims to foster a dialogue on product and supply chain traceability in the footwear and leather goods industries in order to define principles that will lead to sustainable manufacturing. ”Only by creating common ground for a traceability system shared by the entire footwear and leather ...
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ArticleEcco Leather in partnership with Ecovative
Ecco Leather, which is part of the Danish footwear group Ecco, has joined forces with Ecovative to develop new mycelium materials for the fashion industry and other sectors. In a joint statement, the parties claim it is the “first-of-its-kind partnership”, between a traditional leather tannery and a mycelium technology company. ...
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ArticleMilspeed recycles fishing nets for shoe components
Milspeed, a U.K.-based manufacturer and supplier of footwear components, has revealed that since March 2020, it has been working on a program to reprocess discarded nylon fishing nets and recycle them into plastic shoe parts, such as toe puffs and counter material. The initiative, called Ocean Recovery Project, is carried ...
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ArticleFunds2Orgs doubles compensation to partners of its sneaker recycling scheme
Sneakers4Funds said that it has doubled compensation to U.S. partners taking part in its sneaker recycling program. The business, which was launched in 2016 by Funds2Orgs, pays running stores, clubs and events to help keep sneakers out of landfills. “This segment is rapidly becoming a large part of the overall ...
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ArticleItalian shoemakers start using the VCS self-assessment ESG program
VCS (Verified & Certified Steps), a software package allowing the self-assessment of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performances launched by Assocalzaturifici, the Italian footwear association, is currently being tested by three Italian shoemakers. “We chose three companies of different sizes and with different business models” for the pilot tests, explained ...
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ArticleSecondhand online marketplaces on the rise
Cross-border marketplaces are developing fast, and the C2C trend is one of the drivers.
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ArticleEU expects to strike a trade deal with Indonesia in 2024
The European Union expects to be able to reach a free trade agreement with Indonesia within two years, despite a trade dispute regarding palm oil and nickel, according the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis believes it is possible to reach a comprehensive economic ...
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ArticleSaye sees 2022 sales reaching €8m on new model launches
Saye, a fast-growing Barcelona-based company specialized in sustainable footwear, posted sales of €5 million in 2021, up by 80 percent year-over-year, and expects the top line to reach more than €8 million this year. Growth will be supported by the launch of four new models in the coming months compared ...
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ArticlePikolinos aims to be a leader in sustainability
Pikolinos decided in January to adopt a new corporate structure giving to the three children of the founder Juan Perán Ramos full control of the Spanish footwear company, which is expected to end the fiscal year finishing in April 2022 with revenues of around €100 million. Under the new organization, ...
