{"id":63797,"date":"2025-01-10T09:30:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T08:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puma-catchup.com\/?p=63797"},"modified":"2025-11-20T08:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T08:38:50","slug":"puma-resuede-composting-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.puma-catchup.com\/de\/corporate\/puma-resuede-composting-experiment\/","title":{"rendered":"PUMA RE:SUEDE Kompostierungsversuch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Home<\/a>\/\n Corporate<\/a>\/\n PUMA RE:SUEDE Composting Experiment\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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PUMA RE:SUEDES PUT TO THE TEST<\/h1>\n
It\u2019s such a great story – one of the first examples of a self-composting shoe.\u201d Lorenzo van Galen, Co-founder of WEAR<\/div>\n
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A few months ago, the Co-founders of sneaker recommerce company WEAR, Lorenzo van Galen and Pim Roggeveen, decided to put the PUMA RE:SUEDE sneakers to the test and see if they really are biodegradable. Recently, Lorenzo agreed to an interview to share some insights on the experiment as well as the future of circular footwear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>


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Your company WEAR decided to do a composting experiment on the PUMA RE:SUEDE shoes. Tell us a bit about yourself and WEAR.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m Lorenzo, born and raised in Rotterdam. I\u2019m 33 years old and I have a background in marketing and video directing. WEAR all started when Co-founder Pim and myself \u00a0wanted a service to clean our sneakers, so we went to the most famous sneaker store in Rotterdam. We asked them where we could clean our sneakers, and they didn\u2019t have the answer. So, Pim and I had the idea of starting a company and adding our value. We wanted to create something that has lasting impact and that became the foundation of our company WEAR. The goal was to extend the lifespan of sneakers by sneaker cleaning and reducing carbon emissions and reducing fashion waste. \u00a0


How did you hear about our RE:SUEDE shoes?\u00a0
<\/span>So actually, the Puma Suede popped up on our radar earlier this year. [\u2026] The last two years there have been some developments in sustainable footwear, like recommerce\u2014brands selling their own second-hand products\u2014or repair initiatives. Composting is another big focus, alongside innovations like Nike\u2019s 3D-printed Air Max 1000. Made-to-order production, vegan alternatives\u2014there are all these categories that keep popping up. The PUMA RE:SUEDE caught our attention this year because of the composting aspect. And when we looked into it, we found that this project actually started back in 2014. That\u2019s a long time of testing and developing! [\u2026] We decided to create some content around it because it\u2019s such a great story\u2014one of the first examples of a self-composting shoe. \u00a0


Did the results of the RE:SUEDE composting experiment coincide with your expectations?\u00a0
<\/span>Actually it surprised me because I actually had the expectations that nothing would happen. But actually yeah, the shoe did really compost!\u00a0


Even the outsole?\u00a0\u00a0
<\/span>No, there wasn\u2019t anything going on with the outsole. I think that\u2019s the most important part when shredding the product- is that the outsole gets shredded into smaller pieces so that the degrading gets accelerated. But they\u2019re still in the composting bin so we\u2019ll leave them and we\u2019ll see. [\u2026]\u00a0

This was just a small experiment for fun, but the broader idea of biodegradable products is something the industry should explore further. It could change the entire lifecycle of footwear.\u00a0


It\u2019s also great for inspiring other companies to adopt these materials and strategies. Hopefully, in a few years, this will become the norm, reshaping the industry.\u00a0
<\/span>Absolutely. And it\u2019s not just about biodegradable products\u2014it\u2019s about circularity as a whole. Things like recommerce and repair models encourage brands to rethink their design and production processes. If you\u2019re selling a product multiple times instead of once, that changes the game.\u00a0

100%. And what do you think is the biggest challenge for sneaker brands trying to reach sustainability objectives?\u00a0\u00a0
<\/span>I think the biggest challenge is balancing the quality of materials with the upsides of being biodegradable, vegan, etc.\u00a0
For example, there are a lot of leather alternatives, like fruit leather, but there\u2019s always this discussion between durability and sustainability. When I talk to cobblers, they often tell me they prefer a well-made leather shoe because it lasts. In some ways, leather can be more sustainable by being durable than certain vegan or alternative materials.\u00a0

Yes, that makes sense.<\/b>\u00a0

The bottom line is that sustainability impact starts at the design phase. Brands need to think about creating products with multiple lifecycles in mind, so not only the \u201ctake-make-waste\u201d model. Business models like recommerce, where products are designed to be reused or resold [\u2026] opens up a whole new perspective.\u00a0\u00a0

Biodegradable materials are also an interesting topic to watch, but it\u2019s still in its early stages.\u00a0

Absolutely. It\u2019s not black and white\u2014durability, performance, and sustainability are all factors that play into the decision-making process. Apart from the RE:SUEDEs have you experimented with other biodegradable footwear?\u00a0<\/span>So far, the PUMA RE:SUEDE is the only example on our radar. We haven\u2019t seen a lot of biodegradable products from other brands yet.\u00a0

One other interesting innovation is Nike\u2019s recently released 3D-printed shoe. It\u2019s made to order, which makes it more because you start producing when the item is actually sold instead of producing in mass. So yeah, interesting development but no biodegradability is still not really a thing.
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And in terms of the footwear industry\u2019s future, what areas of improvement do you see to make it even more sustainable?\u00a0<\/span>Recommerce is a big thing, of course. [\u2026] Footwear is just very difficult due to issues like wear and hygiene, especially compared to clothing. Repairing or replacing parts of shoes, such as the outsole, is expensive and complicated and there are just so few examples that do it.\u00a0\u00a0

Yes, it would be nice to see this more in the future of footwear.<\/b>\u00a0
Yeah but I think repair would never work in Europe, or in the western world, because the labor\u2019s just too expensive [\u2026]\u00a0 and it\u2019s just too hard to get a good margin on your product when repairing. Innovation in automated repair systems could help, but footwear is made of so many different materials- it\u2019s not homogenous like cotton or clothing- so it\u2019s hard to automate.\u00a0

That said, recommerce could be an interesting sustainable development for brands and I think also profitable.\u00a0\u00a0

Right. It\u2019s all about finding ways to make sustainability both impactful and financially viable. We noticed you also have a podcast. Could you tell me more about it?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Yes, we do! In fact, I\u2019m in the studio right now because we\u2019re recording an episode later today. Every week, we interview entrepreneurs, designers, and other industry professionals, focusing on sustainability, new business models, and design.\u00a0

For example, today we\u2019re talking to an entrepreneur working on sustainable e-commerce packaging here in the Netherlands. We cover a broad range of topics, not just footwear, but it always has something to do with sustainability and business.\u00a0\u00a0

Very cool, we\u2019ll be sure to check it out! One last question: Is there anything else you\u2019d like to share about your company, WEAR, or the industry in general?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>We\u2019ve been working on launching a new platform, called REFLAWN.COM. It\u2019s a starting point for consumers looking for sustainable footwear, combining three categories: new sustainable products, recommerce, and second-hand items.\u00a0

We\u2019re partnering with Sneakerjagers.com, a major sneaker search engine, to build this platform. It\u2019ll include our own stock, affiliate partnerships, and storytelling marketing. We\u2019re set to launch the first version by the end of next week (*The platform is now available and was not yet at the time of the interview), <\/i>and we hope to become the leading voice for sustainable footwear, all releases and different topics.\u00a0

Thank you for this insightful interview, Lorenzo! Be sure to check out wear-store.nl and their new platform REFLAWN.COM.<\/b>\u00a0

There\u2019s only one Forever. Let\u2019s make it Better.\u00a0<\/strong>
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