E-Mission
STEP ONE
The first step in the Shoe With No Footprint journey started with some education. For some years Kustom had been working with materials that had some form of environmental story, but we hadn’t really considered how we wanted the story to end. We had a concept for the development of a lighter shoe, one that literally had a very light footprint, and it got us thinking. Could this be the shoe that helped us on our environmental journey and, aside from its light weight, had a lighter impact on the planet? We would have to broaden our understanding of the material composition of the shoe and then understand the environmental cost of sourcing, manufacturing and shipping the shoe. We were already measuring the carbon footprint of our business, so how hard could it be to measure the environmental journey of a single product? We did our own research, got some experts in to chat to us, locked down all of the materials for the shoe and then set about trying to measure the impact. It sounded easy. It wasn’t.
STEP TWO
We’re now at the point where we have the samples of our shoe. We have used a mix of materials. Some are made from hemp, others from traditional cotton canvas. We find glues that are water based, rather than solvent based. Our laces are made from recycled plastic bottles, our in-sole boards use a range of recycled materials and our soles are made using a manufacturing technique that reduces the amount of production waste. From an environmental perspective, the shoe is better than all that have come before it in the Kustom range. We’re getting better, which is our environmental mission.
STEP THREE
We’re now out there showing our shoe and we’re taking orders to give us an understanding of how many we are likely to sell. We need to know how many we are producing so we can accurately measure the impact. By this time we are also communicating with our suppliers, asking a range of questions about where they are sourcing their raw materials. We are trying to look all the way back to the original source of all materials, whether it be from a farm, a recycling facility or some other source. It is difficult given the manufacturing facility we engage is only the producer of the end product. The manufacturer, therefore, has multiple sources for every component of the shoe. It is difficult to get accurate and verifiable information about the life of the materials prior to getting to the manufacturer. We need to call in some experts in life cycle analysis.
STEP FOUR
Our business has previously engaged with a range of environmental consultancies around the world. For the life cycle assessment task, we turn to a company out of the United Kingdom. They have a vast library of relevant data, having measured and verified environmental impacts of global supply chains. Where we couldn’t access carbon data throughout the supply chain, they have standardised measurements of the environmental impacts pertaining specifically to the footwear industry. They can, with a degree of accuracy, measure the impacts of the supplier’s suppliers. So we now have a plan. We will work with our manufacturer to gather relevant information. Our consultants will then provide us with the likely direct and indirect impact of all suppliers, right through to the manufacturer of the finished goods.
STEP FIVE
The results are in. Our consultants have measured a range of impacts, including greenhouse gases, acid rain, metal emissions, nutrients and organic pollution and water abstraction. They apply some math to it all and produce the total emissions profile as measured in CO2-equivalent. The greatest impact is in Scope 3 emissions from the supply chain. It is complicated but the report makes interesting reading. But the job’s not done. We now have to understand what percentage we are of the supplier’s business to understand the impact of our shoes. We get the numbers – and incredibly this shoe only constitutes about 1% of the factory’s total output – and apportion that percentage of CO2-equivalent to our shoes. We are responsible for 28.6 tonnes of CO2-equivalent. We then do some more math, dividing the number of shoes produced for us by the number of CO2-equivalent emissions for which we are responsible. We now have a number that we can attach to each pair of shoes and, therefore, we can start looking at the purchase of some carbon credits to offset the environmental impact.
STEP SIX
We started out with a plan to measure the life of the shoe. But it’s not that easy. We have a considered understanding of the impact of the shoe, but we don’t yet know the final costs of transport, wear and ultimate disposal of the shoe. The transport depends on where the shoes are ultimately sold. It can be calculated. Beyond that, we would be estimating the cost of the life of the shoe. Will parts of it be recycled or will it end in landfill? We’re not sure at this stage but we figure the greatest impacts are already calculated. So, in recognition that there are more impacts still to be counted, we choose to double the number of offsets we purchase. We turn to a government owned business for help in identifying and purchasing appropriate carbon credits.
STEP SEVEN
Kustom is based in Australia so we look in our own backyard for appropriate direction. At the time of this project, a proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme is not in place in Australia. But there is a voluntary carbon offset standard and it identifies appropriate offsetting methodologies and eligible offset units. There is a choice and we choose units accredited under the internationally-recognised Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) program. We again work with a government owned business to identify a suitable program to buy into. The final assembly of our shoe is in China, so we choose to buy credits in a renewable energy project in Guanting (China). The project, known as VCS project 84, is a wind farm that was developed to provide power to the North China Power Grid. There are multiple benefits, which include:
- assisting local development by creating jobs for the maintenance and operation of the of the wind turbines;
- reducing GHG emissions and partial environmental pollution caused by fossil fuel-fired power;
- promoting improvement and diversification of China’s electricity grid; and
- assisting the region in promoting and accelerating the commercialisation of grid-connected renewable energy technologies and markets.
STEP EIGHT
You buying this shoe sends us a message. Sure, it looks good so that’s part of the appeal and the reason for the sale. But the more of these we sell the more we believe that consumers are equally buying into the environmental message. So, if you’ve bought a pair we can tell you that we hear you. Perhaps more importantly, we also commit to striving for continual improvement.
STEP NINE
We started on this journey with a question. Is this the shoe with no footprint? Pick it up. It’s light weight. It’s also lighter on the environment. Perhaps not quite the shoe with no footprint, but we feel it’s a step in the right direction.