As you know we love sneakers on this site. This time we discovered a new vegan shoe that has been designed using recycled bubble wrap.
The nat-2 Sleek Low sneaker with a tag price of USD 350. The sneaker was developed in a joint venture collaboration between German sustainable footwear brand nat-2 and Israeli textile innovator Remeant.
Nat-2 is known for using innovative materials for its shoes, and the vegan company Remeant transforms scraps and discarded plastic from landfills and oceans to create high-quality, sustainable materials for fabricating an extended variety of products such as handbags, furniture, and clothing.
Nat-2’s Line features three vegan shoes made from recycled materials such as recycled velcro and cord. The new bubble wrap version materials are made from single-use plastic using a patented process that ensures it will be highly durable, waterproof, and extremely lightweight. The bubble wrap leather is 100-percent vegan and the bubble wrap material has been used in a shoe sign for the first time in history.
The shoes nat-2 sneakers are handmade in a small family production in Italy. The upper of the Sleek Low features the bubble wrap material, while its midsole is made from removable cork. The outsole is made from rubber and the laces are created from recycled plastic bottles. Uniquely, the heel collar is made from reflecting glass particles.
Major brands around the world started using innovative vegan materials to create more sustainable footwear options. At the beginning of this month, luxury brand Gucci released its first line of vegan sneakers made from Demetra, a leather made from plant-based raw materials and viscose.
Gucci’s parent company Kering—which also manages the development of Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and more—is part of a coalition of fashion brands working with startup Bolt Threads, the maker of mushroom-derived vegan leather Mylo. All together with Adidas, Stella McCartney, and Lululemon. As part of this partnership, Adidas recently unveiled the Mylo Stan Smith, a vegan version of its iconic Stan Smith sneakers made with mushroom-based leather.
Streetwear brand Vans recently launched its first sustainable shoe collection, made with vegan, and environmentally friendly materials. Instead of traditional textiles such as suede and petroleum-based rubber used in other Van’s products, the Eco Theory collection features environmentally friendly options like organic cotton, cork, natural rubber, hemp, and water-based inks and glues.
And earlier this year, footwear brand Sylven New York launched the world’s first vegan sneaker made from apples and coconut. The “Mel” sneaker is handcrafted in Italy from apple leather, coconut husks, and a renewable rubber made from tree sap. The apple leather is fabricated using organic apple waste from Italy, is a material that has long been used by the brand, but the coconut husks and lactate hevea rubber are new natural materials that have recently incorporated into the shoe
