Not a small feat
Outdoor performance soling supplier Vibram has secured new status as the first-ever shoe brand and the first outsole manufacturer to become a Bluesign system partner.
In August, outsole manufacturer Vibram officially announced it had become the first footwear brand and sole supplier to join Swiss testing body Bluesign’s 800-strong network of system partners. Bluesign, founded in 2000, specialised in textile chemicals prior to expanding into newer categories, including denim, more recently. It first began collaborating with Vibram, one of the world’s biggest producers of high-performance rubber outsoles, back in 2019.
This initial pair-up was motivated by the need to assemble “a new, rigorous method of analysis and certification [for verifying] the sustainability level of footwear”, the shoe company’s global sustainability director, Marco Guazzoni, tells WSA It is hoped that their work together could one day lead to the formulation of industry-applicable guidelines, methodologies and standard, the partners shared.
Performance review
Since joining hands, Vibram-controlled input streams from raw materials to components, chemistry and production processes have all been assessed against Bluesign criteria, Mr Guazzoni continues. Of course, “improvements can never be enough”, he emphasises, citing the manufacturer’s own materials-first approach to sourcing “more natural, more recyclable” options. Working with the certification body therefore represents its commitment to stepping things up even further. “Bluesign’s methodology is among the most demanding in sustainability for textiles.”
However, talking to its director of brand services and partnerships for Europe and the US, Kutay Saritosun, it would appear that Bluesign expects the minimum threshold for footwear approval to be much higher than that required of finished garments, at least at this early stage, now roughly two years into its initial footwear market explorations.
Articles of outdoor and winter apparel, like ski jackets, for example, must typically incorporate at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics to secure Bluesign-approved status. The minimum percentage requirements for footwear components such as midsoles, outsoles, and near-skin materials in products such as standard white training shoes will be “similarly stringent”, Mr Saritosun says.
What sets Bluesign apart is its in-depth examination of system partners’ chemical inventory lists. Each requires on-site assessment, followed up by action plans, secondary visits and detailed recommendations. There are currently more than 21,000 Bluesign-approved open-access dyeing, finishing, printing and coating chemicals for clothing, for instance. Out of the close to 800 existing system partners, all of whom hail from the textiles world, the list covers more than 200 chemicals suppliers, over 450 textile producers and in excess of 100 brands.
Footwear, though, remains relatively uncharted territory for the organisation. The sector is a completely different beast to textiles, as the Switzerland-based director puts it. Besides its work alongside Vibram, Bluesign also has several different pilot projects already under way with other shoe businesses, but these remain confidential for now. The intention is to integrate ever more key industry players into its system, to ultimately widen the available pool of Bluesign-aligned chemicals, components and raw material supply partners, without which there could never be a finished footwear product that meets its standards. Essential questions for Bluesign right now, Mr Saritosun says, include: “What goes into a sneaker? Where should our starting point be? Which components should we focus on, in regard to chemistry? Where can we have the biggest impact in footwear?”
Stepping up to the mark
Ideally, the short-to-medium-term horizons for Bluesign’s new shoe division will involve finished-product certification for at least one prominent brand partner, most likely an athletic or outdoor footwear brand, within the next two years, according to Mr Saritosun. The footwear supply chain is a fairly new domain for Bluesign, whose expertise has always been in the textile and apparel supply chain. Footwear component manufacturers first need to become system partners, implement the Bluesign system and use approved chemistry to manufacture their components before certifying finished products becomes possible. However, Bluesign is optimistic about convincing the majority of component manufacturers to join and begin manufacturing approved components within the next two years.
Meanwhile, work to analyse and certify Vibram’s sustainability-minded component kit has been painted as something of a flagship project, but research and development progress is still at an early stage. Bluesign’s initial footwear foray as a whole is due to conclude by 2026.
Vibram continues to take the road less travelled in its pursuit of both performance and sustainability.
All CREDITS: Vibram
