Waes Plastic Free Sneakers

Waes' plastic-free sneakers in black canvas / Source: Waes

CottonEuropeHempLeatherRubberTextiles

5 MINUTE READ

Nate Tyler

WHAT WE SAY:

Plastic-free shoes are growing in popularity as more brands seek to hit the environmentally-aware design goal. But it was Waes that laid down the groundwork, creating the first plastic-free sneakers in 2020.

Although the brand has sadly closed its doors — for now — its still a pioneering company we can learn a lot from, having made a full line of plastic-free sneakers, right down to the glue and thread. We'll be on the lookout for a new chapter from Waes, but in the meantime, other brands seem willing to carry on where it left off — a positive legacy for a young brand.

KEY FACTS:

Waes was launched in 2019 to provide an alternative to the billions of pairs of shoes made each year that are destined for landfill. The UK brand describes its footwear as a "plastic-free, no compromise product".
To produce its plastic-free, biodegradable shoes, Waes utilised natural Rubber, organic Cotton, Hemp, Leather, a special thread blend, and conifer glue. Every part of Waes’ sneakers were made from plants, except for the metal eyelets.
The use of 100% natural rubber was a conundrum Waes had to solve. To drive down costs and boost speed, most rubber used in shoe production is blended with fossil fuel-based synthetics. But to remain all-natural, Waes' rubber — tapped from the Hevea brasiliensis — was poured into a mould that sat in a 60 degree celsius water bath to solidify the liquid. After cooling, the insoles and outsoles were placed in an oven for a week to eliminate all moisture. The process creates a bubble microstructure which is strong yet lightweight.
Threads and glue were another innovation point. Waes developed its own hemp, cotton, and flax thread, compatible with standard machinery, to avoid market standard PU-based threads. It looked to Ancient Egyptian tree resin glue for inspiration for its modern conifer glue.
Waes emerged before scalable leather alternatives such as Mirum or LOVR were available, therefore was "not convinced the current available materials pass [its] compostable criteria in terms of plastic coatings and environmental biodegradability". As such, the brand chose to use organic-tanned leather, processed without heavy metals, added coatings, or fixatives.
The brand was open about the limitations of its materials, stating that GOTS Organic Cotton, its cotton of choice, was "not perfect" but a "reasonable starting point ... in a journey to directly producing [its] own raw materials".
A coating made of nano quartz (sand) was used to prevent staining and water ingress. The brand claims the nano quartz bonds to the fibres at a microscopic level to create near-permanent adhesion.
Waes shoes were fully life-cycle managed. At end-of-life, wearers could return their shoes for a credit note, after which they would be ground down and composted for use as fertiliser on the brand's own tree plantations. Metal eyelets could be recycled with household waste.
The shoes were designed in collaboration with designers, surfers, scientists, and activists, and manufactured in Portugal.

Waes' sneakers are biodegradable / Source: Waes

The sneakers are finished with a stain and water resistant coating made from a sand adhesive / Source: Waes

DIVE DEEPER:

Plastic shoes are big business. In 2021, 22.2 billion pairs of shoes were produced worldwide – a downtick from pre-Covid levels of approximately 24 billion – and the plastics EVA and PU accounted for 35% of the materials used to make them.
Around 90% of what is manufactured ends up in landfill, releasing microplastics into the environment. In Auckland alone, three million plastic bottles worth of microplastics are released from the atmosphere annually, underscoring the urgency of removing sources of plastic waste pollution.
Plastic shoes pollute in the use phase too, shedding 109 grams of microplastics per person per year due to sole abrasion. Those microplastics then enter the soil ecosystem, reducing water holding capacity and inhibiting photosynthesis via the leachate.
The creation of plastic shoe soles is reliant on fossil fuel extraction, which contributes to climate breakdown. But when done responsibly, natural rubber tapping can increase carbon sequestration, as the productive use of trees quashes the need or desire for deforestation for cash crops. All Waes rubber was sourced from FSC-certified plantations in Southeast Asia.
Aiming to rethink shoe manufacturing through its commitment to using only natural, plastic-free materials, Waes was launched on Kickstarter. 331 backers pledged GBP 41,317 (USD 50,961) against a target of GBP 20,000 (USD 24,668). Production started in 2020 and sneakers began shipping from February 2021.
The brand stated its materials were between three and five times more expensive than that of "other eco shoes", therefore its production costs were inherently higher. The brand aimed to keep prices as low as possible with low margins and a D2C model. A cost breakdown of its Hope model listed EUR 38 (USD 41) for materials, EUR 19.22 (USD 20.86) for labour, and EUR 8 (USD 8.69) for shipping, coming to a total of EUR 65.22 (USD 70.81). The Hope retailed for GBP 120 (USD 148).
With every purchase, Waes planted a sea tree to support carbon sequestration in mangroves, in cooperation with SeaTrees.
The company announced it was shutting down operations in December 2022, stating "as one chapter closes, another will arise".

"Nature has it all worked out, and we are just partnering up with the greatest chemist of all time. All our footwear is produced with materials in our active carbon cycle."

Waes

Key Design Considerations:

Create your solution

Although just a few years old, Waes launched before many current materials innovation solutions, and created its own. Rather than compromising, it innovated plastic-free threads and adhesives. Consider how you can take the same approach when up against material roadblocks.

Be transparent about pricing

Waes unpicked its costs and pricing structure in order to communicate the value of each shoe. While its sneakers were comparable in price to many others on the market, plastic-free solutions often go hand-in-hand with a price increase for consumers, so helping your audience understand the reasoning will help with the necessary values shift.

Take responsibility

Many products are biodegradable or circular in concept, but in practice, a lack of access to the right processing facilities prohibits a return to nature. Waes' end-of-life infrastructure was in place from launch, necessary for it to live up to its environmental promises.