Terra Plana Reduces Waste by Reusing Lasts
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.19.08
Spot the difference, or should I say the similarity, between these three pairs of Terra Plana shoes. All three appear quite different in style, but if you look closely you'll notice some matching details. The heel is the most obvious, but also look at the shape of the sole and the upper, all these parts are identical. This is because these shoes are manufactured using the same last, the wooden form around which a shoe is made. Usually from season to season the shape of shoes change and for each new style a new last is created and then disposed of. This season at London Fashion Week Terra Plana reminded us why good eco-design means working with what you've got. As Galahad Clark says...
"One of the biggest 'wastes' (materials and energy) in the fashion industry is the excessive reinvention of new kits every 6 months (and the disposal of old kits from the previous seasons). This tooling up of lasts, cutting knives, moulds and patterns is a massive and industrially intense process (the average shoe has over 30 components). By first designing styles with classic (sometimes iconic!) shapes that don't come in and out of fashion and finding ways to re-use existing kits: Terra Plana is always aiming to keep the waste of the seasonal fashion jamboree down to a minimum."
We like this clever design thinking from Terra Plana and we're impressed by the variety of styles that can be created from just one 'kit'. It just goes to show how sustainability can be designed into a product right from the very start in its manufacturing process. These shoes are made to last!
