This French entrepreneur wants to cut the environmental footprint of a pair of sneakers by switching out traditional materials for algae soles and “suede” made from recycled plastic bottles. But is this really enough to transform the footwear industry?
When Guillaume Linossier first entered the outdoor industry, he thought he’d found a way to combine his passion for business with his love of nature and open spaces. But as he became more aware of what was going, it was not all rosy:
“I started to learn more and more about the disastrous environmental impact of textile and footwear manufacturing and felt the need to do something to make it better,” he says.
He joined the industry straight out of business school and spent 17 years working for a large French group of international outdoor brands. He managed sales across borders, covering Eastern Europe, South America, Scandinavia, and eventually the US. Based out of Boulder, Colorado, he managed the US subsidiary for 13 years. He admits he knew about the environmental damage taking place in the manufacturing of all this gear. In 2015, he quit.
“We just can’t sustain producing and consuming the way we are today,” Linossier says. “I decided it was time to take action. I left my job to work on the project of a lifetime.”
That “project” is Saola Shoes, a footwear brand using non-conventional materials in an attempt to reduce the product’s overall carbon footprint. While it may seem unusual to focus solely on sneakers, shoes actually account for a huge proportion of the emissions attributed to the textile industry. In 2013, it was estimated that more than 25 billion pairs of shoes are manufactured every year. Making just one pair of synthetic running shoes generates 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
To tackle this, Linossier assembled a small team of outdoorsmen, surfers, and footwear connoisseurs to run Saola Shoes. He invested his own funds, and borrowed, to do the initial prototyping and test the market.
“One of the biggest overall challenges is to identify the materials, the suppliers and then, as a startup, convince these suppliers and assembly factories to work together,” he says. “I could go on for hours about this, as there is not much existing in sustainable footwear development.”
The plan is to focus first on the materials. “60% of a shoe’s carbon footprint is the materials. Our approach is to first tackle this 60%, but we have a lot of ideas on how to improve the other 40%,” he says.
It is worth noting that these figures vary depending on the source, with some studies putting the materials impact far below that of the manufacturing process. But, however you look at it, the fact remains that current standards are contributing to pollution.
When it comes to materials, the founder explains, it’s the outsole that is the greatest challenge. Usually made of rubber, Saola Shoes are made using a material called Bloom™ Foam. Bloom™ Foam is essentially a hybrid between algae and EVA foam, that the brand claim produces outsoles as comfortable and durable as standard sneaker soles. It’s used by several other eco-friendly shoe companies, like Vivobarefoot and Ecoalf. Though made of a plant biomass, the foam is not entirely biodegradable.
Saola Shoes claim to repurpose 3 to 4 plastic bottles to create “suede-like” uppers, and laces are made of recycled cotton. Yet despite this, Linossier himself is not totally happy with the shoes.
“I can’t tell you there is any one part I am 100 percent happy with. I have a tendency to never be 100% satisfied,” he says. “We are definitely using some innovative eco-friendly materials, but to me, this is just the beginning.”
His reservation relates to the shoes’ end of life issues. Despite the innovative materials used to make the shoes in the first place, when they’re no longer needed the shoes face the same fate as their less eco-friendly counterparts. Like most footwear, Saola Shoes are neither repurposed nor do they decompose on their own. It’s something that frustrates Linossier as well:
“Our shoes currently break down the same way as other shoes,” he concedes. “Some of the materials could be repurposed but it is too complex at this time because of all the different components. There is no recycling system in place to separate all components.”
At both ends of a shoe’s lifecycle, it’s the complexity of the design that results in such a large environmental impact. Having so many components and various materials makes the shoe harder to break down into recyclable parts.
“We are starting to think of some concepts to answer the end of life issue and hope that with some R&D and innovation, we will be able to make it happen,” Linossier says.
Much of the supposed progress in the industry; Adidas recently developed a line of shoes made from ocean plastic is more “green marketing” than substantial change, since it only affects one style in their vast collection of shoes. And even that has limited recycling capabilities. Consumers need to be savvy if they’re to spot the difference. Perhaps that’s why Linossier says he doesn’t consider large brands like Nike or Adidas direct competitors. As far as he’s concerned, they simply aren’t trying to do what Saola is attempting to do. He’s more concerned about niche brands like Veja which have been hammering away at sustainability in footwear for over a decade.
“In the big picture, I do not see much change in the footwear. We can see a few things here and there but nothing major,” the founder says. “We need something major!”
