Patagonia Put Their Best Foot(wear) Forward
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 11.30.06
Patagonia have put their toe in the water of the footwear market before, with reef walkers, and shoes for soggy sports like kayaking and fishing, amongst other offerings. But, as we alluded to 18 months ago, they’ve now opted to leap in feet first. Over 30 styles were recently exhibited at outdoor trade shows, with a few styles being quietly released at retail as we type. With the rest following in time for the northern spring ‘07. In adhering to their ‘best product causing least harm’ ethos, Patagonia have selected green materials throughout the line These include natural latex from Hevea rubber trees, Vibram’s Ecostep outsoles, which have up to 30% recycled rubber, with uppers in hemp or vegetable tanned leather. Patagonia president and CEO, Casey Sheahan, says of the collaborative venture with Merrell that they are “working together to find materials and construction methods that can greatly reduce footwear manufacturing pollution.” Whilst Craig Throne, general manager for Patagonia Footwear is quoted thus, “Environmentally, we have taken every step we can but have not compromised on the durability of our product."
(Though it's also noted that some leather is chromium finished in tanneries cited as having the highest of environmental registrations - ISO 14001. Nice, but not exactly noteworthy, for when we last looked, 14001 was a voluntary environmental management system - that could be equally applied to, say, a land mine factory or nuclear power plant.)
But we digress. Other materials range from coconut to Gore-tex. And should you have a spare free hour of time, Patagonia Footwear will also be offering a 'DIY' (design-it-yourself) shoe. Rubber remainded from manufacturing processes will be provided as patterns and lacing so budding footwear designers can craft their own unique shoes, without resorting to tools or adhesives. Reminds us of this post The line is grouped into: Brown (land based activity), Green (travel) and Blue (for water oriented sports.) Patagonia Footwear, like the parent brand, will provide 1% of all sales to the One Percent For The Planet organisation. ::Patagonia Footwear
Seen here are, what we believe to be, the first cabs off the rank: The Rimu shoe is see above.
Manuka travel sandal with shearling footbed. (Sort of an Ugg thong!)
The Swell slide.
The Thing-Thong
I'm not sure how impressed we're supposed to be by this. 30% recycled rubber? Furthermore, this statement "Environmentally, we have taken every step we can but have not compromised on the durability of our product" is a thinly veiled cop-out that allows a manufacturer to do just enough to appear to be making an effort without actually doing squat. Personally, I have higher expectations for Patagonia than this.
I am a retailer who decided to carry the Patagonia shoe line in my store. In the past, I have stocked various hemp shoe brands. Disappointed customers report back that these low-tech shoes basically disintigrate within the first few to several months of use and are not even suitable to donate to Goodwill after that. I believe purchasing durable shoes over the course of one's life (let alone ones made with eco-friendly materials)leaves a smaller footprint on the earth than consuming a high volume of of crappy shoes that quickly fall apart.
My understanding is that shoes are extremely complex to manufacture. Patagonia is actually partnering with Wolverine to make their line so they can hit the ground running with excellent quality. Until there is more demand for eco-friendly shoes, Patagonia is at the mercy of the available technology, including 30% recycled Vibram soles, to make their shoes. Of course, they could hire scientists to spearhead new technology and go millions of dollars into debt to build their own shoe factory, but each pair of shoes would cost hundreds of dollars and no one in the world could afford them and Patagonia would probably go out of business.
I think demand for purer footwear will explode as consumers-who-care learn about the atrocities of the shoe industry. I'm just grateful Patagonia was willing to stick their neck out and take on this new category. Their reputation and marketing clout will accomplish a hell of a lot more than if you or I tried to launch a shoe line. Ha!
P.S. the Treehugger article is incorrect: the leather used in the Patagonia shoe line is not "vegetable tanned." They use tanneries with an ISO 14001 registration which abide by strict environmental standards and do not release chrome.
Unfurl, thanks for making the point that the longest journey begins with a single step. On one hand people clamour for a perfectly sustainable product, and on the other they then whinge if the price is too high. There is no free lunch. Everything is compromise, is balance.
We didn't say all the leather used in the line was vegetable tanned, but that some was. The exact information we were provided with, virtually from the horse's mouth, said "Veggie and chromium-tanned leathers". And we belaboured the point that ISO 14001 should not be taken as an outright endorsement of greener production, it's a voluntary management system, not a third party certification scheme.
does the leather come from factory farms?
does the leather come from factory farms?
Are these shoes made in China with non-union labor? I was disappointed to find that both the eco-lines of Simple and Veggie Vogs shoes are made in China.
I've been very into doing Totally External Audits [TEAs]on shoes.
I can tell you that Nike has done the Environmentally Perferable Rubber, they've gone PVC, VOCs are supposed to be extremely low. Their cushioning is also supposed to stay away from any global warming gases. Use limited Organic Cotton, to have Organic Blends (i.e. products NOT 100% Organic Cotton.) Don't forget their Re-use a shoe program.
I know next to nothing about ASICs, other then their boxes have starts to make the claim PVC Free.
Adidas has turned away from using recycled rubber besides for a limited number of products. I don't recall the percentage of recycled rubber that they tried. They also don't like Organic Cotton, because it doesn't solve the water resource problem in growing Cotton.
Puma has been about the Corporate Responsibility for some time, and mirror a lot of Nike's developments.
So when Patagonia plans to do a 30%, I believe that is a lot to do. I've looked into the difficulty in recycling rubber, and it is difficult to do. The more that is tried, the more hardships that need to be overcome exponentially.
So way to go Patagonia, and keep showing Nike ways to do things before they get around to it!
When you use more than 30% recycled rubber or EVA the physical properties break down and you will get air pockets and the soles/midsoles won't last as long.
I think it is important that these companies are taking steps to use more organic materials and use more recycled componants. You have to start out small because you have to change the way shoes are put together and re-evaluate production standards.
The reality is most footwear is produced in China and other Asian countries. You would never be able to get the pricing at retail if it was produced in the US or in Europe.
Organic cotton doesn't use chemicals that degrade the soil. Consequently, the soil is healthier, ie; spongier. Because spongier soils are better able to hold water - less water will be needed to grow cotton organically than conventionally once a farmer has done the work of improving their soils. Therefore; organically grown cotton will likely require less water than conventially grown cotton.
ps; I just got a pair of those patagonia shoes, and they are very comfy.
I am really not sure if recycled rubber is what I want to wear in a hot summer day. I would definitely prefer more natural materials for my sandals.