Design Life-Cycle

 Xingrui Yan

DES 40A–Section 6

Prof. Cristina Cogdell

03/14/2023

Materials Aspect of I.D. Eight Sneaker

Sneakers’ carbon emission contributes to a significant portion of all the carbon emission in the fashion industry. Angel Chang said in TED Talk that sneakers produce “one-fifth” of carbon dioxide produced in fashion–the CO2 generated per year “is equivalent to the annual emissions of sixty six million cars.” (Chang) I.D. Eight fruit waste sneakers is different from traditional sneakers. It is a pioneering brand created by a couple, shoe designer Dong Seon and brand manager Giuliana in Italy. This sneaker transforms waste from the industry and agriculture into chic footwear. Behind the stylish design hides not only the ideas about cruelty-free and gender equality but also an effort towards “zero waste.” But can we really consider I.D. Eight sneakers as a zero-waste product? 

As an overview, the main materials for making a pair of I.D. Eight sneakers are the fruit-leather—Pinatex and Apple-skin—and recycled products—recycled cotton, recycled polyester, thirty percent recycled rubber. Sneakers usually have upper, insole, midsole, outsole, and heel. Upper covers the entire feet; the insole is the inside bottom of the shoe; midsole and outsole are both the bottom layers of the shoes that used to support people’s weight; last but not least, the heel covers the ankle. More specifically, the upper includes most parts of the shoes: vamp, toe cap, laces, eye-stay, eyelets, tongue, topline, collar, and heel are all considered as the upper. In I.D. Eight’s two samples, Sneakers Hanna and Duri, the upper is made out of Pinatex or Appleskin (sometimes Vegea and recycled polyester.) Outsole and midsole are made from thirty percent recycled rubber. The inside heel utilizers organic cotton. The shoelaces are also made out of recycled polyester. The logo uses recycled paper. The insole is made out of recycled cotton. For traditional animal-skin skins, the upper, insole, midsole, outsole, and heel are, according to Chang from TED-ED again, made out of synthetic textiles such as polyester, nylon, latex, and polyurethane. Relying on synthetic textiles are more problematic as the chemicals used in processing. For instance, the upper from traditional sneakers are made from leather. Tanning leather requires chromium, a carcinogenic chemical. Unfortunately, chromium can pollute the freshwater system. 

Interestingly, although rubber and cotton are used in both traditional shoe making and sustainable shoemaking, there are disadvantages even when the natural rubber and organic cotton are considered as “green.” Rubber is oftentimes used as the sole parts of the shoes to support weight, there is a process called vulcanization. While rubber seems like a primary material when it comes to shoe-making, it is the secondary material. In fact, crude oil is the main raw material that goes into making rubber. In vulcanization, sulfur is added in order to make rubber more elastic and sturdy than natural rubber. Nowadays, most sneakers use synthetic rubber due to its flexibility and durability. With these benefits, it makes sense why I.D. Eight designers choose to employ thirty-percent recycled rubber. Similarly, although organic cotton that grew in soil is considered as a more “environmentally friendly” product, yet in history, the production of cotton is often tied to slavery. Therefore, even if a material is considered as “green,” if people consume the product that relies on such material, it is unsustainable. it is advantageous that I.D. Eight did not open the business big due to the high price—around two hundred and fifty dollars; since the demand is not as high, manufacturing is not involved so that I.D. 8 is more considered as a craft. 

Piñatex, Apple Skin, and Vegea  contribute more positive environmental influence than animal-leather in sneakers. It is paradoxical that while natural materials come in to make the fruit leather, the back of the fruit leather is combined with synthetic materials made out of plastics of synthetic textiles (not as sustainable considering the amounts of chemicals that go into making those non-natural textiles). Pinatex is made out of pineapple’s leaves.  According to Jeremy Williams in a business article, “How Pinatex makes leather from pineapple fiber,” pinatex “takes the long fibers from pineapple plants” which “leaves are a waste product.” (Williams) If the leaves are not used as pinatex, it will end up being incinerated or piling to rot. Because “four hundred and eighty leaves” makes “per meter of [piñatex],” the leftover leaves will need to be used as natural fertilizer or biofuel. It is also good news that to make piñatex from pineapple leaves, no additional water, land, human labor, and fertilizer resources are needed. In terms of labor, because piñatex is a non-woven mat unlike silk, it is more efficient to create piñatex. To make piñatex, the farmers first need to extract the fibers from the leaves through decortication. Secondly, the fiber needs to be felted into a non-woven mat; the fibers then get washed and dried—pectin needs to be removed  in this process in order to make the material with a softer touch. Similar to Pinatex, the apple-skin is made out of apple cores and skin, the byproduct from apple-cider industry, which is also beneficial to zero-waste movement. Similar to Apple Skin, Vegea is also called wine leather made by skin and seeds of grapes. These three materials not only can replace the already unsustainable and saturated traditional leather industry that heavily utilizes harmful chemicals in the production process, import and collaborate with nearby developed and developing countries outside of Italy to globalize the idea of sustainable fashion and circular economy, and create a new stream of income for the Philippines whose 10% of lands are used for agriculture.

Numerous materials come in for the manufacturing process.Traditional techniques and materials such as machinery, glues, and shoemaking tools are required. Each small material can form its own life cycle process. In fact, the life cycle two might have the most materials used. Although I.D. Eight did not show the exact process of how to make the sneakers so that other companies won’t imitate their techniques. It can be inferred that the machineries and tools that are used to make a traditional sneaker are also used for this fruit-waste sneaker. 

Similar to the previous points, shipping and distribution for I.D. Eight is identical to traditional shoes. The main materials that go into the packaging are recycled cardboard, recycled paper, with a plant as a gift.  Although I.D. Eight focuses on highlighting how green its packaging and container is-involving recycled cardboard and a tiny plant-because some environmentally friendly websites are responsible for shipping this brand of shoes to the customer, it is likely to suspect that to get the shoes to European customers nearby, ships, planes, or cars are still required, which boils down to using either electricity or petroleum for the fuel. According to the shoe's anatomy, sixty-five parts generally come in to make shoes. AppleSkin is made in another country nearby, while Pinatex is imported from yet another country in Asia due to the amount of Pineapple trees grown there. Nevertheless, Piñatex, apple skin, and vegea  is not created within the I.D. Eight’s company. These materials needed to be shipped from usually the Philippines—where the primary material is processed—to Spain—where the secondary material is processed—-then to Italy—where the product is made. Due to a lack of customer reports regarding how they use I.D. Eight's sneakers, it is unlikely other raw materials go in this part of the life-cycle other than what has been written on the first part of the life cycle. However, it is likely to guess traditional or "eco-friendly" cleaning products, shoe pads, or at home sneaker box protection can be used with I.D. Eight's sneakers. 

Waste is a significant aspect of the lifecycle as it also hints at how I.D. Eight can further improve. By looking at the entire life cycle of I.D. Eight, Life Cycle Stages 4—Waste—is more problematic because even though I.D. Eight is pitched as being zero waste, the leather that is made out of pineapple leaves and apple core and skin-Pinatex, is, in fact, non-biodegradable. While apple skin created by The Apple Girl and PETA-Approved companies are biodegradable, it is uncertain which specific Apple-skin is imported to I.D.8’s production line as different apple-skin leather is made slightly different. Prof. Cogdell showed me a sample of her collection of apple-skin. Ironically, the back of the apple-skin is made out of synthetic material. Unlike Apple-skin, Piñatex is not completely degradable because, again, the PLA material at the back. After customers receive the box of new pairs of I.D. Eight Sneakers, they tend to recycle the cardboard and paper wrapper first and plant the plant ball in the garden. This process is considered zero waste. However, after walking in these shoes for around five to fifteen years, it would wear off. If people throw it away, since the recycled rubber, recycled polyester, and recycled cotton is glued together with the non-recyclable fruit leather. People have to throw away the shoes, which will end up in landfill for numerous years. Most importantly, there isn't any recycling program in I.D. Eight companies could imitate Nike's recycling program.Yet, recycling the I.D.8 sneakers might still require extra energy due to transporting the sneakers from each household to the plant. There is the common trend that switching to greener alternatives will end up requiring more energy.

I.D.Eight fruit waste sneakers are indeed an improvement from the animal-skin traditional sneakers for those people who want a brush of vibrant colors in their closets. However, it is clear that this type of sneaker creates several problems such as the crude oil required to exchange materials from different nations, the energies required to improve the so-called fruit-leather, and the lack of recycling program. To me, fruit-waste sneakers are no big difference from traditional sneakers after taking a look at the life cycle. If people want to be sustainable, they can ditch the ideas of consumerism indoctrinated by the capitalistic system and choose to follow a minimalist lifestyle.

Works Cited

"Chi Siamo - ID.EIGHT Sneakers." Youtube, 15 Feb. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFXCyjo-6ZY. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Marsi, Noraini, et al. Fabrication Process of Palm Empty Fruit Bunches Reinforced with Box Waste Coated Super Hydrophobic for Shoe Pad Application. 2020. Institutional Repository Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, eprints.uthm.edu.my/2500/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Product Description of ID. Eight's Sustainable Sneakers. Slow Nature Sustainable Fashion, www.slownature.com/collections/id-lab-s-r-l. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

"Who We Are ID. Eight Re-Revolution Sneakers." ID. Eight, www.id-eight.com/en/sostenibilita/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

The most helpful internal website regarding general ID Eight's products, especially when it comes to the materials.

"Dutch Design Students Turning Fruit Waste into Leather." Sustainable Brands, 12 Apr. 2015, sustainablebrands.com/read/product-service-design-innovation/dutch-design-students-turning-fruit-waste-into-leather. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Ganesh, K Selva, et al. "Utilization of Fruit and Vegetable Waste to Produce Value-added Products: Conventional Utilization and Emerging Opportunities-A Review." Utilization of fruit and vegetable waste to produce value-added products: Conventional utilization and emerging opportunities-A review. National Library of Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132221. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023. Excerpt originally published in PubMed.gov.

"How We Turn Plastic Bottles into Shoes: Our Partnership with Parley for the Oceans." Adidas, Mar. 2021, www.adidas.com/us/blog/639412-how-we-turn-plastic-bottles-into-shoes-our-partnership-with-parley-for-the-oceans. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Joe, Tanuvi. "Would You Wear Vegan Sneakers Made from Upcycled Fruit Waste?" Green Queen, 30 July 2021, www.greenqueen.com.hk/vegan-sneakers-upcycled-fruit-waste/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Sustainable Food Systems in Fruits and Vegetables Food Supply Chains. 17 Feb. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8891749/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Thukral, Chi. "These Sustainable Sneakers Are Made from Fruit Waste!" Yanko Design, 1 Dec. 2021, www.yankodesign.com/2021/12/01/these-sustainable-sneakers-are-made-from-fruit-waste/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Gill, Nav. "This Sustainable Sneaker Startup Raised 100% of Its Funding Target in Just 32 Minutes." Future World, 3 July 2021, futurevvorld.com/footwear/moea-sneakers-vegan-sustainable-fruits-plants-kickstarter/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

How a Plastic Bottle Becomes a Shoe. www.acs.org/education/outreach/celebrating-chemistry-editions/2022-ncw/bottle-becomes-a-shoe.html. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Sharma, Bharat. "23-Year-Old Indian's Startup 'Thaely' Turns Plastic Waste into Sneaker Shoes." India Times, www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/thaely-plastic-waste-shoes-554397.html. Accessed 8 Feb. 2023.

Brainard, Anne. "Entrepreneur." 9 Startups Changing the Fabric of Fashion, 17 Sept. 2017, www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/9-startups-changing-the-fabric-of-fashion/299459. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

"Making the Production of Rubber Better for the Planet." World Wildlife Magazine, Jan.-Feb. 2016,

www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/winter-2016/articles/making-the-production-of-rubber-better-for-the-planet. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

"Materials Index." CFDA, cfda.com/resources/materials. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

"The Wildly Complex Anatomy of a Sneaker." TED-Ed, uploaded by Angel Chang, www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_YMOhpyErI. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Williams, Jeremy. "How Pinatex Makes Leather from Pineapple Fibre." The Earthbound Report, 30 Aug. 2018, earthbound.report/2018/08/30/how-pinatex-makes-leather-from-pineapple-fibre/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Emily Liu

Design 40A

Dr. Christina Cogdell

13 March 2023

ID.Eight Fruit Waste Sneakers: Embodied Energy

Dong Seon Lee and Giuliana Borzillo are the founders of ID.Eight but Giuliana was the

one who proposed the endeavor of creating a sustainable cruelty free sneaker line to Dong Seon

Lee (her husband). Dong Seon Lee then came out with Hana Fluo, the first product under the

company name. According to my research, the sneaker is semi-industrial in its production but it

is mostly manufactured by hand laboriously from people with years of experience. The

company's sneakers are also made in Italy, entirely from a small factory in the Marche region

using low-impact materials obtained from waste processing; such as apple skins, grape skins,

recycled cotton, and recycled polyester. The exact machines that they use in the small company

to produce the sneakers are not revealed but through the available videos that ID.Eight provides

on their website and youtube they have procured a supply chain for the materials to be sent to the

small company in Italy to process and manufacture. The time and energy used to create Id.Eight

sneakers is marketed as sustainable and cruelty free, the company does deliver that notion on the

aspect of its acquisition process for materials. In the beginning, the energy used in production is

significantly less for recycled materials in contrast to new materials such as cotton, polyester,

rubber, and fruit leather.

Throughout this paper, I will address the embodied energy needed for acquisition of raw

materials, the production and distribution of the product, usage, and the disposal of the sneaker.

Through my research of the lifecycle of Id.Eights sneaker I am able to assess the embodied

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energy used for this product. The sneakers originating from Italy are sold in Pounds and sell for

an average of 225 pounds which is about 271 USD at the current market price at the time of

research. Since this sneaker is created in Italy it must also use mechanical energy to be

transported and depending on the delivery location the sneaker can go through multiple

mechanical energies like a truck, boat, or plane to arrive at its destination. This also means that

the package will also always be delivered to the customers door as none of the shoes are

available in retailing stores, having it delivered to the door uses a lot of energy as the farther

away the sneaker travels to the customer more chemical energy is used in the form of fossil fuels

are used for the vehicle of transportation. The sneaker is packaged in recycled paper and

compostable packaging with a ball of clay/dirt that contains local flower seeds to grow to further

promote sustainability and the energy used for the disposal of the packaging is simply to just toss

in the garbage along with other papers.

The sneaker is made from recycled cotton, polyester, rubber, and food waste leathers:

Pinatex, Vegea, or Apple skin. All the materials are processed and manufactured at the company

so the supply line focuses on mechanical energy for transportation to the factory. According to an

article the recycled cotton and polyester are crushed into small fibers and respun to make new

fabrics, chemical and mechanical energy is used as the materials go through a process of

cleaning and then crushed by machines. (Leonas)Mechanical energy is mainly used in this

process of crushing and respining the fibers into new fabric.

The 30% recycled rubber uses leftover rubber from tires or recycled soles from other

shoes, the process melts the rubber together to reform a new sole for the sneaker, this uses

chemical energy. According to research food waste leathers go through a specific process called

bio polymerization which essentially purees the fruit waste spread on a sheet and is dehydrated

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until almost all the moisture is removed until it is a flexible leathery sheet and is then combined

with polyurethane to create vegan leather (da Silva Simão). Polyurethane is derived from crude

oil and the energy used to obtain that material is through underground reservoirs using traditional

drilling and pumping methods. It is then transported in liquid form in refrigerated trucks to

polyurethane production facilities. Fossil fuels and electricity is used in its transportation from

extraction site to processing site. Polyurethanes are formed by reacting a polyol (an alcohol with

more than two reactive hydroxyl groups per molecule) with a diisocyanate or a polymeric

isocyanate in the presence of suitable catalysts and additives. Chemical energy is mainly used in

the production of this material but there is also mechanical energy used to transport the

concoction from one machine to another. The processing of the materials requires chemical and

mechanical energy through semi industrial machines to cut, dry, crush, melt, and respun.

Although some kinetic energy is used in the processing when humans add more to the machines

or adjusting, very little kinetic energy is used.

The final production of the sneaker uses the most kinetic energy as humans are cutting,

hammering, sewing, and gluing together the materials to create the product. The energy usage for

the sneaker depends on the usage of each individual and can vary from little energy usage to a lot

of energy and its life cycle of usage can depend on those variabilities.

The sneakers own disposal is not clear as no information is provided on how to recycle

the sneaker or if the company itself has a recycling program for the sneaker. Going by this

knowledge the energy for the disposal of the sneaker will be tossed into the garbage as the fruit

waste leather does use polyurethane which is not biodegradable, it will then be transported by

truck to a landfill or if the shoes are donated they will also be transported by truck and possibly

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to a plane for redistribution of the donated shoes in third world countries which also will use

more energy for transportation in the form of fossil fuels.

The embodied energy used to create the original materials is definitely higher than using

recycled materials as the original materials energy usage includes a lot of kinetic energy to grow

the materials and then also go through multiple processings for the final product. Recycled

materials also go through a process but with a lot less steps as the material itself is ready and

only needs to do some reformations to be used again.

In this paper I displayed the energy needed in acquisition of raw materials, the production

and distribution of the product, usage, and the disposal of the sneaker. For convenience and

speed a lot of energy is used to create a single pair of sneakers even if it is recycled the energy

output after production is still a lot less than the energy used during production. This company is

still relatively new as it was created in 2020 and none of my emails or messages for the sneakers

specific life-cycle was answered so there is still some unknown information in regards to specific

details of its manufacturing process. Despite some un-specifics the sneaker in general as a whole

is more sustainable than if the sneaker was made with its original materials.

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Annotated Bibliography

Bhatia, Dinesh. “(PDF) Recycled Fibers: An Overview.” ResearchGate, Jan. 2014,

www.researchgate.net/publication/341321862_Recycled_fibers_An_overview.

Cyrus A. Tshifularo a, et al. “Recycling of Plastics into Textile Raw Materials and Products.”

Sustainable Technologies for Fashion and Textiles, Woodhead Publishing, 6 Dec. 2019,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008102867400013X.

da Silva Simão, Raquel, et al. “Recent Advances in the Production of Fruit Leathers - Food

Engineering Reviews.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 6 Dec. 2019,

link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12393-019-09200-4.

Dhange, V. K., et al. “Organic Cotton: Fibre to Fashion.” SpringerLink, Springer Nature

Singapore, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-0878-1_11.

Hijosa, Carmen A. A. Piñatex, the Design Development of a New Sustainable Material, Royal

College of Art (United Kingdom), England, 2014. ProQuest,

https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/piñatex-design-development-new-sustaina

ble/docview/1780278904/se-2.

Leonas, Karen K. “The Use of Recycled Fibers in Fashion and Home Products.” SpringerLink,

Springer Singapore, 1 Jan. 1970,

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-2146-6_2.

Luna, Carlos Bruno Barreto. Industry in Polystyrene: Effect of SBS Compatibilizer Content.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0095244318819213.

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Maraveas, Chrysanthos. “Production of Sustainable and Biodegradable Polymers from

Agricultural Waste.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 14 May 2020,

www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/5/1127.

Meyer, Michael, et al. “Comparison of the Technical Performance of Leather, Artificial Leather,

and Trendy Alternatives.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 13 Feb.

2021, www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/2/226.

Vadicherla, Thilak, and D. Saravanan. “Textiles and Apparel Development Using Recycled and

Reclaimed Fibers.” SpringerLink, Springer Singapore, 1 Jan. 1970,

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-287-065-0_5.

 Mackenna Welch

Professor Christina Cogdell 

DES 40A

3/14/23

Waste: ID.EIGHT Shoes

D.EIGHT is a shoe company based out of Italy. Founders Dong Seon and Giuliana Borzillo tout their company as being an ethical, cruelty-free and sustainable alternative to other “fast-fashion” sneaker options on the market. The main appeal of these shoes is that they are made using leather alternatives that are comprised primarily of fruit waste from the food and beverage industry. “The goal is to launch a low environmental impact footwear… made in Italy… with innovative and eco-sustainable materials…” (id-eight.com). However, despite the fact that ID.EIGHT shoes are made with biodegradable materials such as fruit waste thus making them a more eco-friendly alternative, the final waste materials are not actually biodegradable. 

To begin, ID.EIGHT shoes are comprised of a relatively short grouping of materials. Recycled plastics make up components such as the laces and label. The rest of the shoe contains organic cotton, recycled rubber and one of three potential leather alternatives. These “leathers” are made using different types of waste from differing sectors of the fruit industry. ID.EIGHT’s website states that “in recent years, the amount of agri-food waste used to make sustainable products has gone from 0 to over 30 tons per month”. The company’s shipping materials include recycled cardboard, bioplastic and an included “seed bomb” which is made from dirt and clay. 

Each of these materials is marketed as an eco-friendly alternative to leather, however none of these materials are actually truly biodegradable under standard or “at-home” environmental conditions. Although the shoes do contain a percentage of truly biodegradable materials, the entire shoe will more than likely end up in the landfill due to the remaining non-compostable materials such as petroleum-based polyurethane. The company’s website claims that their shoes are made using one out of three of these potential leather alternatives, OR recycled polyester (though not stated specifically, this is likely depending on shoe color and/or style). The leathers are not made by ID.EIGHT, but are sourced from third-party manufacturers. 

Before diving into each of these leather alternatives individually, we must first address the issue of polyurethane, otherwise known as PU. PU is a plastic-type material made from varying types of oil, and is present in all three leathers listed on ID.EIGHT’s website. PU is commonly used in construction applications, in which case its greenhouse gas emissions oftentimes net negative over prolonged periods of use due to its impressive insulation capacity. In the case of short-term-use products such as a pair of sneakers, however, this payoff is not likely to be replicated. The use of PU is necessary in order to provide strength and durability to bio-based materials, however it also renders the final material unfit for at-home, natural compost environments. PU is recyclable, and “more than 250,000 tons of polyurethanes from European sources are recycled and recovered every year. Furthermore, (the) use of polyurethane waste for power generation in municipal solid waste incineration decreases the need for fossil fuels” (polyurethanes.org). While the benefits of PU are evident in long-term-use applications, it’s not an ideal single-use medium due to its inability to biodegrade and its reliance on oil as a finite source material. 

The first leather alternative material is known as Piñatex, and is made from pineapple plant leaves which are dyed using GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) -certified dye and coated with PU resin. Because of the resin coating, this material is not 100% biodegradable unless it is processed under industry conditions. Consequently, if the consumer ends up discarding this material in the landfill, it will take far longer to degrade. That being said, Piñatex production itself concludes with minimal waste output in terms of fossil fuel, water usage and chemical components, especially when compared to other synthetic leather materials. “…The by-product of decortication (the process by which Piñatex fibers are extracted) is biomass, which can be further converted into organic fertilizer or bio-gas. Both the extraction of the fibers and the consequent biomass will bring added revenue stream to the farming communities” (watsonwolfe.com). Because the pineapple-based component of this material is produced unavoidably via the pineapple industry, this makes it a fantastic example of up-cycling in this regard. The plant leaves, which would otherwise be deposed of, now replace a percentage of the synthetic material that would otherwise be used, offsetting carbon emissions and lowering overall environmental impact.

The second leather alternative on the list is AppleSkin, which is comprised of petroleum-based PU, apple pomace and peel, cotton and polyester. While this form of PU is technically degradable, it is not certified biodegradable due to the fact that it takes over 180 days to fully degrade. The most notable waste-reduction factor regarding AppleSkin is its low carbon footprint. Compared to synthetic leather without fruit waste utilization, AppleSkin reduces carbon emissions by up to a whopping 53%. 

The third and final leather alternative is called Vegea — a material comprised of grape waste, primarily sourced from the wine industry, plus organic cotton and PU. Like the aforementioned materials, the polyurethane included in Vegea prevents the material from being fully biodegradable. On the bright side, however, the supplementation of plant-waste significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions and eliminates petrochemicals which are typically used in synthetic leather production. Additionally, the facilities used to manufacture Vegea leather are powered by renewable energy sources. To take waste reduction one step further, “the wine industry generates seven million tons of waste annually, and though these are usually burned, emitting CO2, Vegea uses these viticultural leftovers to close the loop on sustainable production” (wired.com). This statement could be amended and reapplied to the previously mentioned fruit “leathers” as well, considering the fact that most fruit waste is commonly burned if it’s not being repurposed or up-cycled. 

Aside from their hallmark bio-leathers, ID.EIGHT shoes do contain a few other key materials. Recycled rubber, which makes up the sole of the shoe, leaves a carbon footprint that is up to twenty times smaller than that of virgin plastic. Recycling also reduces energy waste: “Recycling four tires reduces CO2 by about 323 pounds, which is equivalent to 18 gallons of gasoline” (recycledrubberfacts.org). When any material is re-purposed, its lifespan is prolonged, which means it’s kept out of the landfill for a longer period of time. Unfortunately, since ID.EIGHT does not currently have a recycling program in place, the recycled rubber used in the shoes will inevitably meet its demise in the landfill nonetheless. 

ID.EIGHT shoes also contain recycled plastic, primarily in the form of polyester. Recycled plastic certainly cuts down on the overall environmental impact of the plastic industry and expands the material’s overall life cycle. The reuse of plastic also helps to reduce the use of crude oil in general, however the process of recycling plastic is both expensive and extremely difficult. Ironically, the recycling process isn’t always low energy, either. On the upside, recycled plastic reduces water use in comparison to virgin plastic, thus reducing water waste. It’s worth mentioning that the shoes contain only a small amount of plastic, found in areas such as the laces and labels.

Recycled cotton is another material used in ID.EIGHT shoes. Luckily, cotton is a fully compostable material, given that it’s a relatively simple plant-based fiber textile. Even when treated with resins or softeners, cotton fabrics degrade in typical compost environments. Despite the fact that the cotton plant is a renewable recourse, virgin cotton production is not a low-waste process. “Carbon emissions from cotton production amount to around 220 million metric tons yearly. Regular cotton uses a considerable amount of synthetic fertilizers, which release nitrous oxide into the atmosphere” (trust.world). Additionally, around 2,700 liters of water are used in the production process of one cotton t-shirt. The process of dyeing cotton fabrics consumes around 5 trillion liters of water each year, not to mention pollution caused by synthetic dyes and chemical pesticides. Although the future of virgin cotton production looks grim, “using recycled cotton saves 20,000 liters of water per kilogram of cotton and reduces the amount of energy use” (pangaia.com). 

The last few materials included in ID.EIGHT’s lifecycle are used during the packaging process. Even in the final stages of the shoes’ production journey, ID.EIGHT chooses to use recycled and recyclable cardboard and bioplastic. Bioplastics, though touted as notably better for the environment than standard plastics, are not a perfect solution. “Bioplastic" is a broadly-used term for plastics that are either biodegradable or made using biological materials. “… The degradability of bioplastics is also a factor of their composition… and environmental factors, leading to degradation times ranging from several days to several years” (sciencedirect.com). This wide range of definitions can make the environmental impact of a given bioplastic material difficult to pin down. Even when a bioplastic is fully biodegradable, the degradation of the plastic produces methane gas, which contributes to global warming on an even more devastating scale than CO2. 

Additionally, the land use associated with the production of virgin bioplastics (and biofuels) makes up almost a quarter of the total land used for agricultural purposes worldwide. To make things worse, bioplastics may rank worse than regular plastics in certain categories. “…Bioplastic production result(s) in greater amounts of pollutants… (and) contribute more to ozone depletion than traditional fossil fuel-derived plastics” (sciencedirect.com). Although the overall impact of bioplastics has some major weak points, the production of PLA (polylactic acid) bioplastic saves two-thirds of the energy required to produce standard plastic. PLA also emits 70% less greenhouse gases when it does end up in a landfill. Unfortunately, ID.EIGHT is not specific about which type of bioplastic is used in the packaging of their shoes, so it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact waste footprint of this component. 

Recycled cardboard is a far easier material to summarize. Cardboard is typically a material that degrades quickly, which makes it a more eco-friendly choice for packaging than plastic — at least in terms of waste. Paper products are easy to recycle, and cardboard is one of the most commonly recycled materials worldwide. “The production of recycled paper has significant environmental advantages over virgin paper production, including less impact on forest resources, less air pollution, less water pollution, less water consumption, less energy consumption, and less solid waste” (calrecycle.ca.gov). The quality of paper products doesn’t typically decline with reuse, making them an ideal choice over their virgin counterparts. 

Of course, the journey of a pair of ID.EIGHT sneakers doesn’t end with packaging — the shoes still need to be distributed worldwide. It’s difficult to estimate the exact waste impact of the physical shipping process since the frequency at which the shoes are delivered and to which locations worldwide isn’t information that’s readily accessible. That said, shipping any product oversees leaves a hefty carbon footprint, regardless of how sustainable the product itself is. Just a single flight from Ancona Italy to New York City expends roughly 2 metric tons of CO2. Additionally, each of the materials sourced by ID.EIGHT were at one point shipped from their location of origin to ID.EIGHT’s manufacturing facility in the Marche region of Italy. In the case of Piñatex for example, not only is the final material shipped from Spain to Italy, but the pineapple plant fibers used to produce Piñatex originated in the Philippines. 

As a whole, ID.EIGHT shoes are a significantly better choice in terms of environmental impact than, let’s say, generic Adidas or Nike brand sneaker models. They utilize primarily recycled and ethically-sourced materials, and the company appears to be committed to transparency and consumer education. Although the shoes will most likely end up in a landfill at the end of their life cycle, the waste emitted during the production of most of their chosen materials is significantly reduced from the production of their virgin and/or synthetic counterparts. Recycling, regardless of key component, is almost always a win for the environment — even if only by prolonging the materials lifespan and reducing production demand by any amount. The major drawback of ID.EIGHT shoes is the fact that they will ultimately end up in the landfill, but as of this point in our technological timeline, this fact is likely unavoidable.

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