In April 2019, in the comments under an article, you told us this:

And it got us thinking. We realised that sneakers are the item in our wardrobe that wears out fastest. Between the knocks, the rubbing and the rain, it’s hard to keep a pair going for more than a year or two. And to make matters worse, options for reusing or recycling them are _{almost non-existent}.

So we set out to make sneakers that are truly durable:

• durable as in “sturdy”: they last as long as possible
• durable as in “ethical”: they have the smallest social and environmental footprint possible
• durable as in “good-looking and comfortable”: sneakers you’ll still want to wear in two years’ time

Getting all three into one pair inevitably means making compromises. These sneakers aren’t perfect, but yes, they are the best we’ve managed to make.

Here’s how we went about it.

With a little help from Caroline

First, we were lucky enough to cross paths with Caroline. Long story short, Caroline is a star of the shoe world: trained at Hermès, she went on to Castelbajac, made shoes for a few obscure unknowns like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Michel Gondry, then launched her own brand of luxury sneakers. We also see eye to eye on environmental issues and share the same idea of what a company should be (otherwise she would never have agreed to work with us).

Honestly, without her, we don’t know how we would have managed. To make a garment, you generally need to find two suppliers (1. the one who makes the fabric, 2. the one who sews the garment). Shoes are a whole different story: you need a shoemaker, a last maker, and suppliers for the leather, laces, eyelets, outsole, insole, cardboard box… Caroline put us directly in touch with the right people: we were able to understand what makes a quality shoe, pick apart the processes, choose the best components and see the working conditions with our own eyes. In the end, most of the companies involved in making these sneakers are located within _{50 km of Porto}. Not only does that mean better quality and faster turnaround, not only does it spare the sneakers a 40,000 km journey before they reach you, but above all, it lets a network of local businesses work hand in hand. Isn’t that what the economy of the future should look like?

How did we go about it?

To be sure of making a sneaker that lasts, we ran a survey with a single question: “Why do you throw your sneakers away?” Then we went through the 1,000 answers you gave us, and here is what we learned.

The sole: the Achilles heel of the sneaker (yes, we went there)

Most of the time, the sole is the first thing to give up on you.

The most common choice among so-called "quality" brands is a "gum" sole (a blend of natural and synthetic rubber); several factories (Margom being the best known) offer this product, and each has its own recipe. To pick the sturdiest, we took soles from the most reputable suppliers and measured their _{“abrasion resistance”} with a machine like this one:

The winner of our tests: a sole made by Bolflex (see the test results)¹.

We also tested a sole made from rubber recycled from the factory’s own offcuts². It turned out to be 30% less resistant. No surprise there: recycled materials are generally less stable than virgin ones. So if the sneakers last 3 years with a standard sole, they would only last 2 years with a recycled one! We therefore decided to stick with a virgin rubber sole. Environmentally, whatever we gained with a recycled sole could never make up for that shorter lifespan. That said, the brand O.T.A. has the good idea of using material that is upcycled rather than recycled: it collects used tyres and works them into its soles. Since people are generally lighter than cars, those soles are pretty much unbeatable when it comes to abrasion resistance.

Finally, we tackled the shape of the sole itself: to slow down wear, we added a little extra material in the areas that rub the most.

Leather or not leather?

For the main material, we ruled out fabric (cotton, wool, linen, polyester and so on) from the start: to be wearable all year round, sneakers need to be waterproof. Then there’s the question of durability: with fabric, holes always appear eventually...

That left us with a choice between:

1. Animal leather (cowhide in this case, by far the most widely used leather in footwear)
2. Synthetic leather: faux leathers (the “plastic” leathers, such as “skai”) and so-called plant-based leathers (made from apple, pineapple or grape waste, for example).

One of the reasons we chose animal leather (cowhide in this case, by far the most widely used leather in footwear) is that it offers the best balance of quality and comfort: it is almost waterproof, it keeps you warm, it absorbs the moisture from sweat (which prevents odours and even fungal infections), it is naturally flexible and it moulds to the shape of your feet over the weeks. Above all, it is very tough: where synthetic leathers can crack and deteriorate over time³, cowhide (as long as it’s properly conditioned) holds up.

We are well aware that this material is controversial for ethical and/or sustainable brands. So we spent a lot of time trying to understand this industry before making a decision. It is one of the hardest questions we have ever had to deal with, because it means weighing up four factors that sometimes pull in opposite directions: our comfort, animal welfare, environmental pollution and the social question. We explain it all in a dedicated article you can read here, but if you’re short on time, here is a quick recap of why we chose to use leather:

• Animal ethics: We know that, as things stand, there is no way to guarantee farming without animal suffering. But we believe that in the short term, the best strategy for animal welfare is to support the survival and growth of small, extensive farms with responsible practices. That means choosing leather produced in Europe and, in the medium term, pushing for a leather traceability system that lets us pick hides from the most responsible farms.
• Environmental pollution: livestock farming is certainly a very big source of greenhouse gases, but much less so in Europe. So provided 1. our leather is of European origin, 2. it is tanned in Europe and 3. the leather sneaker lasts at least twice as long as the others, it can emit fewer greenhouse gases than a fabric or synthetic sneaker.
• Social and societal impact: all synthetic leathers, including those made from plant waste, require a complex industrial process, largely because of the polyurethane involved (around 50% of the sole). So today they still depend heavily on the oil and/or chemical industry, a model we find less desirable than that of traditional farming and tanning, which supports a more local, more frugal economy on a more human scale. (To read the full reasoning, click here).

What we understood by digging into this subject is that, for both animal welfare and environmental impact, this leather absolutely has to be produced, tanned and assembled in Europe. So we went looking for the right European leather.

But first, we had to settle on the right colour. At the start, we thought white sneakers weren’t a great idea: they get dirty a bit too easily over time, and vegetable tanning is out of the question (white vegetable-tanned leather yellows in the sun). But we soon had to face the facts: we’re not Anna Wintour yet, and we weren’t the ones who were going to turn people away from white sneakers.

So we went looking for a quality white leather, produced and tanned in Europe. The tricky part was finding one whose layer of white pigment wasn’t too thick, so that it wouldn’t lose its breathability and flexibility, wouldn’t feel too plasticky and wouldn’t crack over time. In the end, after studying several options, we found what we were looking for at a Spanish tannery (Palomares): a European full-grain, pebbled cowhide. Full-grain, because that’s the strongest part of the animal’s hide – it’s where the fibres are densest. Pebbled, because unlike smooth leather, it shows creases less, particularly at the front of the shoe.

For the lining, we found a leather in Portugal that is hard to beat environmentally: a vegetable-tanned, naturally dyed cowhide (meaning it is free of chrome and metals, which is safer, especially for people with sensitive skin, allergies or skin conditions).

Staying in your comfort zone

We also did everything we could to make sure these sneakers don’t hurt your feet.

So we started with the shape. Our “_{last maker}” has been working with Caroline for several years, and he developed a last for us that is both elegant and comfortable⁴:

• It rises at the back to hold the heel in place, but not so much that it gives you blisters on the Achilles tendon.
• The front of the shoe is rounded enough not to press on your big toe.
• As the podiatrists⁵ we met also advised, the heel of our sneaker has a drop of 1.5 to 2 cm between the front and the back of the foot.

But we didn’t stop there. We then looked for ways to make the sneaker as comfortable as possible:

• For maximum comfort, the entire outside of the sneaker is made from a single piece of leather (even though it costs a bit more). The more panels a shoe has, the more seams it has, which stiffens the sneaker and risks making it uncomfortable (in the small world of shoemaking, they say it reduces the “give”).
• The insole (a.k.a. the “sock liner”) is made of memory-foam latex – like the mattresses you see advertised in the metro – so it’s ultra-comfortable. And it’s removable: you can swap it out when it’s too worn, or replace it with an orthopaedic insole.
• On top of that, we added two thick foam pads around the ankle. We wouldn’t go so far as to say it feels like wearing slippers, but the pictures speak for themselves:

One problem = one solution

Next, we tried to find solutions to all the other problems you had reported to us:

Your soles end up coming unglued? We stitched ours to the leather with a side seam⁶, after bonding them with a very strong glue that contains no (potentially toxic) solvents.

• They wear through at the big toe? We put a hard toe cap made of resin fibre under the leather at the front, to make sure that area doesn’t sag over time.
• The laces snap? We chose (recycled) polyester laces, which are tougher than cotton ones.
• The tongue slides around? We added a loop so the laces hold it in place.
• The lining wears through at the Achilles tendon? A panel of reversed leather reinforces that area (and stops your heel from slipping).
• The heel counter gets damaged? That’s usually because people can’t be bothered to undo the laces when they put their sneakers on or take them off. So to help them slide more easily, we fitted eyelets in the lace holes (and we dipped those eyelets in a special bath so they don’t discolour like they did on our first prototypes).

Tested in real-life conditions

Even with nothing but good ingredients, a dish can still turn out inedible… The only way to make sure these sneakers are really good is to test them in real-life conditions. _{For almost a year now, at Loom}, we have been wearing the various prototypes nearly every day. We even handed out a few pairs to testers (you can read the detailed feedback from one of them here) to make sure our opinion wasn’t biased.

With that hindsight, we can tell you that our sneakers are among the most comfortable and the toughest we have ever worn. To be honest, there is only one flaw we haven’t managed to fix: white gets dirty. So yes, you’ll have to clean them regularly. We tried it on one of our prototypes, and you’ll see that if you spend half an hour on them from time to time, you can convince everyone they’re brand new (you’ll find our care tips here).

Update, January 2021: And if white really isn’t an option for you, the sneakers are now available in black.

For every foot

Since we wanted these sneakers to fit as many people as possible, they are unisex and sizes run from 35 to 47 (going beyond that would have meant developing a new mould, and financially, we can’t afford that yet).

How much do they cost?

To make a sneaker of this standard in Portugal, you have to pay for it: they cost €49 to produce. To give you a point of comparison, a pair of big-brand sneakers like the Stan Smith is bought in China for around €5 to €10. In short, to make these sneakers, cover logistics, shipping and VAT, and feed our children and pets, the lowest price we can sell them for is €115 (as usual, delivery included, and returns/exchanges are on us).

Pre-orders are open

YES, WE KNOW, we told you we would never do pre-orders again. But Covid-19 has come along since then, and we need to be very careful about how we manage our cash and our stock. Plus, since this is a brand-new product category for us, we have no idea how many you’re going to order or what the size breakdown will be… So we would rather ask you first and manufacture accordingly.

Pre-orders open now and close on Sunday 14 June at midnight. And we’ll deliver… in early November. YES, WE KNOW, THAT’S A VERY LONG WAIT⁷.

More seriously, Covid has turned a lot of things upside down for our suppliers. The good news is that the factory making our shoes has a full order book: right now, those who produce well and locally are in high demand. The less good news is that if we don’t want to sacrifice either the health of the people working in that factory or the quality of our sneakers, we have to accept a 5-month wait. But given the choice, we would always rather do things well than do them fast, and we know you understand.

Update, January 2022: These sneakers are now available to buy directly.

Who are we to say this? 
You're reading La Mode à l'Envers, a blog run by the clothing brand Loom. The textile industry is coming apart at the seams, and the planet is footing the bill. So whatever we manage to understand about this industry, we try to explain here. Because making clothes that last is good, but revealing, sharing and inspiring is even more powerful.
If you like what we write and want more, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Promise: we don’t write often, and we never spam.

Sources for the notes:

• The EcoTlc study stating that “The reality of recycling used shoes is fairly brutal: there are no (or hardly any) solutions for recovering them” is available here.
• The 2017 study of 60 podiatrists, 83% of whom recommend a heel of 2 to 4 cm, is available here.

Notes

¹ And for those in the know: yes, we tested a Margom, and yes, the Bolflex is better, although the results show they are both very good soles.

² This is known as pre-consumer recycling. Basically, they collect defective or non-compliant soles and melt them down to make new ones. Compared with post-consumer recycling, the quality is better because the raw material is far more uniform.

³ We haven’t found any study that backs this up objectively, so we are repeating what the suppliers told us. We’ll dig into this in the future.

⁴ There are so many different foot shapes that no sneaker will ever be comfortable for 100% of the population. But a good last maker knows how to create a shape that suits as many people as possible.

⁵ The question of heel height in shoes (also known as the "drop") is hotly debated among podiatrists. But according to this 2017 study of 60 podiatrists, 83% of them recommended a heel of 2 to 4 cm.

⁶ It’s a construction similar to the famous Blake or Goodyear stitching on dress shoes (where the sole is stitched entirely underneath the shoe), but adapted to sneakers (where the sole rises slightly up the sides).

⁷ But season two of Baron Noir also took ages to come out, and it was worth the wait, wasn’t it?