Belgian brand Komrads is set to market the first trainers made from the fermented pulp of apple peel.
The textile industry is one of the highest polluting in the world, from the raw materials to the manufacture, not forgetting the transport of the finished product and recycling. A number of initiatives are gradually being created to make the fashion industry ethically and ecologically responsible. One of these is Belgian, namely apple leather trainers. No, you are not dreaming!
This is an innovation by the Belgian brand Komrads, which has been producing sustainable trainers, among other things, since 2015. Komrads worked on this new product for a year and a half and now has a prototype, which will soon be ready to market. These new trainers, the Komrads World, have a limited ecological footprint whilst also being fashionable and affordable. “It looks like traditional leather, but is 100% vegetarian and ecological,” explained Mark Vandevelde, the brand’s founder.
Production does not require the extraction of raw materials. The sole is made of 100% recycled leather from car tyres, which is then coloured with organic paint. The apple leather is made in Italy, where the apple peel pulp is fermented into high-quality leather. Lastly, the shoes are made under fair conditions in Portugal.