Miōn — ‘06 Ecodesign Award Winning Footwear
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 08.17.06
Miōn is a relatively new company. A subsidiary of Timberland. It’s chief designer is Martin Keen, who lent his name to another footwear company of the same name. Anyhow, Miōn is a very Twenty First Century looking sandal. What you might expect the Jetsons to wear on the weekends. Or some might see it as a high performance pair of Crocs. But the Industrial Designers Society of America (ISDA) saw it as a leading light in EcoDesign. Awarding it a Bronze Award in their ‘06 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). Though, strangely, the awards site is shy on details about how they came to this conclusion. They talk vaguely about “radical reductions in energy use and waste generation.” And mention a “repertoire of ecologically sensitive materials”, but only note one: a corn-based film. Plus they cite a “first ever” Eco Metrics label modelled on the FDA nutrition label. (Great idea, but think others, like Worn Again, have been doing this before.) Don’t get me wrong, ....
.... I think the Miōn is an innovative, cool looking shoe, I just wish its eco side was more obviously explained. For example, the environment page on the Miōn site says “Unfortunately, footwear manufacturing is not yet a "green" process, but we're looking for ways to make it better, wherever we can.” Yet goes on to talk more about their renewable energy credits that offset CO2 used in production, and the warehouse that gets 60% of its power from its own solar panels. Dig around elsewhere, you have dig, and you’ll learn that Miōn Solutions is an upcoming festival that “will recognize films that inspire environmental activism and stewardship at a local or regional level.” So while there seems to be much that is worthy in both intent, and in action, there appears, at least to this observer, to be a shortcoming in communicating all this.
With ecodesign, the message is, in most cases, as important as the product and the processes. It helps make informed purchases, and aware customers.
The IDEA Gold prize winner in the ‘06 was Tricycle paper baser-based carpet samples, while the Zody office chair collected a Silver award. Both of whom have graced our pixels before.
::Miōn, Via IDEA 2006 Awards
another case of eco-wash ... mion needs to walk the talk ... all made from dino juice ... hmmm ... and this is eco?
I'd be much happier seeing a one-piece sandal or clog made from recycled materials and easily recyclable. Does anyone make such a thing? Camper has some recyclable shoes but they are made from virgin plastic.
how come no one is talking about simple shoes? they have a whole bunch of shoes called green toe that are totally sustainable...
Yes MION is based on EVA which has a petroleum base but they are 98% efficient in production and commited to 100% renewable engergy. Awareness is the begining of change and being honest about energy and consumption "ecometrics" is a good begining. Besides they are incredibly comfortable.
I know about Nike's Re-use a shoe program. I try to get local people to collect them, and I ship them. It seems to go to good uses. Nike doesn't advertise for it too overtly though. So I try to bring it up.
I read about these shoes in a design magazine months before they were out on shelves. The main thrust of the article was the eco-friendly nature of their production. When I went to the website, most of what I noticed was the sustainability-related info, so I have to disagree that they aren't getting their message across clearly. Also, keep in mind that this company is primarily in the business of selling footwear, not saving the planet. I think we should be a little more tolerant of those whose efforts don't match our highly focused goals. Griping from environmentalists like some of the comments above will only dissuade more big companies from this cause. Why bother trying to help if no matter what you do, the greens will say that you're not doing enough?
Imagine how much harder this shoe must be to recycle than Crocs. Look at all those different materials required to make it. Would anyone every separate those out? All the Crocs-flamers should have a go at this one, too, if they're going to be democratic.