To our customers:
Let’s talk sustainability for a moment (it’s always on our minds).
Most important, of course, is our leather. All of our leather is degradable, recyclable and exclusively a byproduct of cattle and sheep raised for meat (it’s better for the environment to use this leather than to dispose of the hides).
Our all-leather construction uses only vegetable-tanned leathers, the most sustainable method available. It comes from tanneries gold-certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG), which we’re told is pretty special. (By the way, the TPR heel piece, is also 100% recyclable.)
Our wrapped leather construction is about 50% sustainable (memory foam, unfortunately, cannot be recycled) with an outsole that’s 100% recyclable and 40% recycled. (The soft leather in which we wrap our footbeds requires a different tanning process, but it’s degradable and recyclable.)
Why not use synthetic leather, you ask? Please, oh please, don’t get us started! Our beautiful leather is much more sustainable than polyurethane (PU), which is 100% plastic—made from either petroleum byproducts or “natural gas,” both of which are fossil fuels and bad for the environment.
As for packaging, all of our carton and box materials are recycled, except for the wax coating on the lining and tissue (it’s necessary to prevent dusting onto the shoes). But we’re hot on the trail of other options.
Our shoe boxes are super cool, we’ll tell you why: They’re made from 100% recycled paper. They fold flat, which means they took up less space in transit (so less fossil fuels burning on trucks to get here). You can fold them down again and recycle them!
What about transportation, you ask? We prioritize ocean freight whenever possible, as it is significantly more efficient, producing up to 40–50x fewer carbon emissions than air freight. While air shipping offers speed, it comes with a dramatically higher environmental cost, so we aim to minimize its use and make more responsible logistics choices wherever we can.
We care about the artisans who make our shoes! We partner with workshops and trusted factories around the world that share our commitment to responsible production. Every tannery and factory we work with is highly conscious of both environmental and social impact, and continually working toward higher standards.
