SUSTAINABLE SHOE ON SHOW AT FIMEC
There is an interesting
argument about the sustainability
of chrome-tanned leather.
Chrome comes from the earth; if
a shoe goes into landfill, any
chrome in the leather is returning
to the earth. The thinking with
the West Coast shoe, according to
Ms Streicher, was more that they
wanted to make sure there was
no risk of chrome III oxidising into
chrome VI. For this reason, major
Brazilian tanning group Bom
Retiro made the leather without
using any heavy metals.
This project shows that the
technology and materials exist to
source a shoe with this level of
sustainability. As soon as the
market seems receptive and
willing to pay a necessarily higher
price to have stitching that uses
organic cotton, lining from
bamboo fibre, soles from post-
consumer-use rubber and leather
produced without any heavy
metals, this Brazilian footwear
brand can respond.
Pairs of the West Coast sustainable shoes were part
of special section of Fimec 2011 called Fábrica Conceito
(Concept Factory). This was an IBTeC initiative, run
with the support of the Fimec organisers and Coelho
Assessoria. A long list of other companies in the
footwear supply chain, around 60 in total including
Bom Retiro, contributed machinery and materials to
help the project run. The Concept Factory occupied 570
square-metres of space at the event, setting up a
production line, complete with machinery, and teams
of people working on models of men’s and women’s
dress shoes as well as the more casual West Coast
casual model.
IBTeC president, Rui Guerrero, said he felt the idea
represented a great opportunity for people to watch
demonstrations of how new materials can work in the
context of a modern footwear factory, slotting into the
operation in real time. “It’s a showroom of
opportunities for visitors and exhibitors at Fimec,” he
said. “It’s a practical demonstration of a high-tech
footwear manufacturing operation.”
The pairs of the West Coast sustainable shoes that
the Fábrica Conceito produced during its four-day
demonstration at Fimec went to a charity in host city
Novo Hamburgo for distribution to the poor.
The Concept Factory also made dress shoes for men and women.
CREDIT: FIMEC
The organisers say the Fimec exercise proves
Brazilian manufacturers can roll out sustainable
shoes as soon as the market is ready.
CREDIT: FIMEC
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