Keen ‘harvests’ agricultural waste for new sole
Oregon-headquartered footwear brand Keen recently launched Harvest, a new collection of cotton canvas sneakers with a “plant-based” outsole and midsole which it described as upcycled from industrial agricultural waste such as husks, leaves and stems.
Specifically, 51% of petrochemicals typically used in the outsole and 35% of petrochemicals typically used in the midsole - both of which are polyurethane (PU) - have been replaced with a biobased polyol made from agricultural waste.
Calling this an “exciting step forward”, Keen stated that the more plant-based PU sole has the same feel, performance and durability as before, but with a “lighter footprint”.
The company is also currently building its Keen Harvest Certified Program, set to launch in early 2022, which it said would provide the consumer with a greater level of transparency in terms of how much industrial waste is upcycled into shoes across the board, not solely limited to its own brand.
Three levels of certification make up the programme, with ‘gold’ meaning more than 50% upcycled materials have been used, ‘silver’ meaning more than 25% and ‘bronze’ meaning over 10%.
The first shoe to be audited according to the programme’s specifications, the Howser Harvest, features an upper created from 80% upcycled car seat leather. Scheduled for a November release, it has been rated ‘gold’.
Image: Keen has released women’s Elsa and men’s Eldon sneakers with a partly “plant-based” sole as part of its new Harvest collection.
