Source: Natural Fiber Welding Blog
There are opportunities in business that only a select few get to be a part of: being a founder of Google, or the first employee, being in the dorm room when Facebook was born, and knowing the really awkward host of Saturday Night Live a few weeks back when he first said, “hey let’s make an affordable electric vehicle.” People become millionaires and billionaires when the right opportunity presents itself. I’ve been diving into learning about sneakers and sustainability and a name continues to rise to the surface in these dialogues, Natural Fiber Welding.
Today, I ran across their blog because it featured a shoe dog I’m familiar with from Wolverine Worldwide (the company that owns Merrell, Cat, and Saucony). Alan Lugo, who has been in the sneaker industry for years, is the product strategy manager at NFW. Why is a company focused on creating the most sustainable material for consumer goods bringing aboard a shoe dog? The easy answer is the recent alignment with Allbirds:
Allbirds’ 2 Million Dollar Investment for Mirum™ Shouldn’t be the Focus, NFW Inc. Should Be
I talked about this a few weeks back, but I didn’t really consider the actions of the company carefully. Bringing in a shoe dog implies that there is more under the surface of the creators of Mirum and Clarus. In the blog post they discussed what is becoming known as “the impossible shoe”. Alan explains this shoe as, “The “impossible shoe” refers to the concept of a shoe constructed entirely out of natural materials that can be recycled. Our idea of an “impossible shoe” is one that has no plastics and therefore no reliance on the petrochemical industry. When we do that, we have a shoe that can be ground up and returned to the earth in a way that will not cause harm or be toxic to people or the environment, even if it’s not formally recycled.”
That dialogue around the “impossible shoe” blended with the information about where Mirum will be utilized (see the two pictures above and below) is beginning to look like what Hamilton wanted. NFW is the room where ‘it’ is about to happen. I like making predictions and when those predictions have evidence of people making decisions that show an interest in not simply making the technology, but pulling an Apple and also implementing that technology, I get intrigued and begin writing. Bringing in a shoe dog tells me that NFW could be on the verge of making the impossible shoe themselves, or they are placing themselves in a position to be the material of choice for every brand looking to be first in creating the ‘impossible shoe’.
Launching a blog tells me that NFW also wants to be an educational source. Last week when I recorded part of the presentation on the launch of the Allbirds/adidas collab, I wrote a statement:
I recorded ten minutes of the Q&A between adidas and Allbirds for their Futurecraft Collab. The initial presentation was insightful, and it was one of the best looking Zooms I’ve ever seen. The Q&A wasn’t really a lot of A. It felt scripted and that is understandable. It’s hard to respond to so many questions in rapid succession. The most frustrating aspect is no one answered about how to move sustainability from the niche. Eco-friendly products don’t reach the consumers who purchase the most. Until that is approached these are just cool projects.
When I stated that someone needs to address who to move sustainability from the niche, I was saying that someone has to educate. Neither Allbirds or adidas has a dedicated source of information on the problems around waste/trash and the issues with products claiming to be sustainable. The NFW blog is an educational tool that is needed, from a company that I’m starting to think is the next powerhouse American industry. Maybe, just maybe the little blog they’ve launched will hit the right people.
I’m just making sure I do my part… cause I’d like to be in the room when it happens, with my 1 dollar investment, lol.
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Source: Natural Fiber Welding Blog