Cole Haan Simply Made a Sustainable Shoe Out of Dandelions

First we had thrift shops, then we had new garments made out of outdated garments, after which we obtained new garments made out of recycled supplies like water bottles. And now? The most recent materials vying for area in your sustainable capsule wardrobe is… dandelions.

Yep, the whimsical weed is a secret eco-friendly powerhouse—and Cole Haan is making it the star of your new go-to pair of sneakers: The Technology ZERØGRAND II. The sustainable shoe makes use of Cole Haan’s FlowerFoam™ materials—made out of a minimal of 25 % pure dandelion rubber—to create a light-as-air outsole that places a literal spring in your step.

What makes dandelions so sustainable, you ask? It comes all the way down to turning one thing undesirable (like recycled water bottles or pesky weeds littering your garden) into one thing modern (like the most recent sneakers in your closet).

“Dandelions for most individuals are a nuisance—so it’s discovering a very good use for an in any other case undesirable weed,” says Scott Patt, chief inventive officer at Cole Haan. “I feel the beauty of dandelions, and the creation of dandelion rubber, is that dandelions are a renewable useful resource. So lots of the locations that dandelions develop are locations that different crops and issues can’t develop. “

Because the inaugural shoe of Cole Haan’s Change Ahead™ initiative for Sustainable Innovation and Pure Design—the corporate’s blueprint for actively looking for out naturally derived or recycled supplies for its merchandise—the sneakers put the model’s potential to mix model, efficiency, and sustainability on show. “The Technology ZERØGRAND II for us was a end result of all of these issues coming collectively,” Patt says. The outcomes? Ethereal, soft-soled sneakers that make each step you’re taking somewhat extra comfy, modern, and sustainable.

Store Sustainable Sneakers

1. They’re significantly fashionable

When you’ve been occupied with becoming a member of the fashionably inexperienced membership, there’s actually no higher place to begin than along with your footwear (they’re the muse of each outfit, in spite of everything). However the important thing right here is fashionably inexperienced, which is why Patt says one of the best ways to get extra folks on board with sustainable vogue is by beginning with model.

“I feel the easy reply is model,” he says. “You’re going to steer with the truth that you need to look good, regardless.” He recommends beginning your planet-friendly wardrobe with staple gadgets that hook up with your every day life—like a pair of wear-with-everything sneakers in a modern silhouette and impartial coloration palette.

2. A number of conscious supplies

The light-weight FlowerFoam™ isn’t the one aware materials within the Technology ZERØGRAND II. The higher a part of the shoe consists of 21 % recycled content material (like vegan microsuede fiber) and reconstituted felt material—referred to as rPET—manufactured from 85 % recycled bottles, Patt says. (FYI: The laces are 100% rPET, too). “We’re additionally planning into the way forward for extra sustainable fashions,” he says. “In order a model, we’re persevering with to ship on that promise to be extra aware with the issues that we’re making elsewhere.”

3. The packaging is aware, too

Whereas the sneakers are main the cost for impression, Patt notes that the extra sustainable packaging was carried out years earlier than the sustainable shoe was ever conceptualized. “Our packaging is manufactured from a minimal of 75 % post-consumer recycled cardboard,” Patt says. “We additionally eradicated any plastics from that packaging.” Right here’s to much less plastic, and extra dandelions.

Prime photograph: Cole Haan and Nicely+Good Artistic