Sustainably 'Sweet' Trainers

Very soon, we launch our first ever sustainable trainer.

The DOT trainer fuses creativity with the latest innovation in sustainability. The bio-based sole is made with 70% Sugarcane-derived EVA. Made from renewable resources, it’s also incredibly lightweight, flexible, and more durable than conventional petroleum-based sneakers. Low environmental impact Chrome-free and Vegetable Tanned leathers complete this uniquely timeless design.

 Here's a little bit of the science: 

The bio-based foam used in our soles is considered a by-product of the sugar industry - processed by a mill where the sugarcane is crushed. The first press is mostly used to produce sugar, with subsequent presses extracting residual sugars to create ethanol. This ethanol eventually becomes the raw material from which bio-based EVA foam is made.

By using a sugarcane-based sole, we not only reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, but we also help with capturing carbon. Through photosynthesis, sugarcane takes CO2 from the air and a portion of this CO2 is locked into bioethanol, the basis of our bio-based soles. Thus carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere - and this is great for the environment. Not only that, but the sugar cane byproduct is a biodegradable material so that eventually - at the end of its life, it will return to the earth and not enter landfill.  

We employ Ateliers in Portugal with highly skilled crafts people to make the shoes. The process for DOT is still predominantly hand made on a small scale despite trainers being mostly mass produced. The N logo has been hand stitched as well as most of the processes. They are a labour of love.