In the perfect world we wouldn’t make another shoe and simply buy products that are recycled, resoled and reused. That’s not reality and I understand this. What should be happening, however, is brands shouldn’t simply use catchphrases, or ride the wave of being more eco-friendly. When I see a brand touting a new ‘greener’ product, I like to dig and get a response. With the big brands it takes forever to get a response because transparency isn’t easy to approach.
With smaller brands the response time is usually faster and always more open about the ultimate goal. Greats Brand has appeared here on the site more times than I can count. As a former brand owner/founder when I see another startup succeed it makes me happy to support and share information. When I see a smaller brand use their size to their benefit by becoming more agile and adjusting I really want to share information about them.
Greats just dropped their most sustainable shoe and in keeping with their ‘timeless classics’ ethos, the simple tennis shoe The Royale returns in a canvas version featuring Bloom foam. The Royale previously launched with recycled plastic, so this addition proves that Greats isn’t simply adopting the language but working hard to truly be better. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have questions. I reached out to the founder, Ryan Babenzien to dig a little deeper.
Thanks for responding Ryan. Greats has been working hard to become a company with a better supply chain and a focus on sustainability. I know last year the Royale led the way for Greats footwear using recycled plastic, which is impressive for a smaller brand, and to be honest more significant when you consider your limited SKUs, but you’re stating that the ECO is the most sustainable shoe yet.
Of course this intrigued me as I’ve been working on learning more about sustainability. Instead of simply sharing pics of the Royale Eco Canvas and saying, ‘check out the latest model from Greats’ I wanted to give you a chance to explain a bit more about the release. Here are a few tough questions on the Royale Eco Canvas:
Question 1: The upper material, is it a cotton canvas or a poly canvas?
RB: Hey appreciate you doing this for the people. they need to know what goes on in the industry and education and conversation is generally the best way to do that. The upper is GRS certified recycled cotton canvas.
Question 2: The copy says reclaimed material. Is the upper recycled or are you using “scrap” material?
RB: It’s recycled not scrap.
Question 3: There are people who may not understand why I’m asking about the upper being cotton or poly. Can you explain the science or decision-making process used to consider poly vs canvas for that material?
RB: We decided to use Cotton not poly for a few reasons. The simplest answer is that Cotton is a natural fiber and bio degrades, poly is petroleum based and does not biodegrade. There are a range of pros & cons to both, like cotton needs more water than poly to produce. But I believe net / net using natural materials is better overall for the environment.
Question 4: Where is the natural rubber coming from?
Question 5: Is the rubber from a FSC certified source?
RB: I believe it’s coming from Indonesia although in all honesty, I’m not 100% sure on this. I’m checking with the dev team and trying to get a more concrete answer for you but for us as well. Looking into the FSC cert. as well.
Question 6: I visited the Bloom factory last year. That company is doing amazing work. How did you connect with the team in Mississippi?
RB: I met Ryan from Bloom about a year ago after reaching out to him directly and wanting to use Bloom. I was just excited about what he has been working on for over 10 years now. The Eco Royale is the first of many of GREATS styles that will have Bloom insoles. They are doing really good work so I’m really happy to be working with them.
Question 7: What is Greats’ overall outlook on sustainability?
RB: It’s my belief that it’s not only GREATS responsibility to be better when it comes to what we make and what we make it from, but all brands. I believe it’s the requirement of all brands to be more responsible both environmentally and socially if we want an earth to live on. I use the word responsibility rather than sustainability because I’m honest with what we are. We’re a brand that makes things and therefore can never truly be sustainable in regards to the environment. The best we can do is do the least damage and we’re working towards that. But being a responsible brand is built in to our DNA and we’ve had this mindset since we started. We have never used single use plastics in our packaging. We make shoes that are classic in style, trend resistant and well made. Making something that last a long time may be the most responsible thing a brand can do, regardless of what it’s made from. If it’s made from mushroom leather but falls apart in a few weeks, I’m not sure that is a sustainable product.
Question 8: What are the biggest impact areas on the planet in Greats’ supply chain?
Question 9: What is the brand focused on improving and how will you measure the strategies implemented?
RB: We’re focused on improving every part of our supply chain – materials, suppliers, factories. We have been using factories that treat the factory workers ethically and fairly. Europe tends to have a much higher standard of work environment, better wages, lower hours worked per day, more holidays, etc. And the majority of our styles are made in Italy and now Portugal, which I’m actually quite excited about. The factory we use in Portugal checks all these boxes and they are getting their energy from wind and solar so they check more boxes for a more responsible operation. We’re thinking about how we measure and communicate our, what I call, responsibility quotient. But that’s a working title at this point. We also produce in China and these factories are vetted, validated and approved in a way that most people would applaud.
Question 10: Those in sustainability often talk about releases by brands being, ‘like diet soda’. It makes you feel healthy if you don’t know any better about how to be healthy. I see a company that has taken what seems like over 30% of its product mix and made it sustainable. That’s a considerable number. Why are your releases NOT like diet soda?
RB: The simple answer is I don’t want to cheat the consumer even if they are willing to cheat themselves. The diet soda reference is a good one because people lie to themselves every day and think, “It’s diet so if I consume 64 ounces a day Ill be fine.” And the brands encourage that…but it’s a lie and it will do just as much damage (as we now know) as drinking a cane sugar soda, or more likely do more harm actually. Calories are not the issue, chemicals and synthetics are and companies created corn syrup and chemicals to save money first and foremost because sugar is expensive. Just like leather is more than a man made leather. But sugar is better for you than a synthetic sweetener in the way that leather is better than plastics. In the end, the more natural the material, the better. That’s how you stay fit and healthy or in this case, help the earth stay healthy.
Thanks Ryan for taking time out of the day to let me hit you with these questions. The Eco Royale begins shipping on August 15th.
Note: arch-usa.com has combined with sustainability managers to assist brands in becoming more accurate in the presentation of sustainable products. If you’re a company that needs assistance with the copy and nomenclature for presenting to your consumer what and how your products are ‘sustainable’ drop me a line so we can assist you: cburns@arch-usa.com
