New FDRA guide on EPMs gets help from Nike, VF, Allbirds and others
Leaders from across the activewear shoe industry have contributed to trade association the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA)’s recently released environmentally preferred material (EPM) guide for footwear.
Nike, Allbirds and VF Corporation (owner of outdoor brands The North Face, Timberland and others) were among those who contributed their feedback and expertise, although FDRA acknowledged that the “basis” of its recommendations had been drawn from a similar guide created by footwear group Caleres.
On its recommendations, FDRA commented that the thresholds it had set out are all “very attainable”, due to them being “already commercially available”.
Interestingly, it also pointed out how, in its view, shoe companies must not be asked to adopt apparel sustainability standards: “Clothing and shoes are two totally different products due to performance, construction and material types.
“One cannot set EPMs for clothing and expect them to apply to a performance-based product like shoes. It creates unrealistic targets that do not apply to our industry’s sustainability journey and hurts efforts.”
The guide provides what the association described as its “minimum footwear industry requirements” going forward for leather and synthetic substitutes, natural and manmade fibres, foam, biomaterials, thermoplastics, natural wool and rubber, metals and packaging.
Read FDRA’s full recommendations here.
Image: Up There Athletics.
