The RPPL’s sole is made from Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA) that contains algae biomass harvested from freshwater lakes and rivers.
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Where is algae used in the RPPL sneaker?
Why is algae considered a sustainable material?
Algae is a renewable, non-food plant source that does not require pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation, land transformation or human labor to grow. In other words, unlike traditional crops like cotton or corn, there is no intensive agriculture involved. Harvesting helps alleviate algae blooms that can be toxic to people and marine life. After a harvest, algae will quickly regenerate.
What is algae’s role in the environment and what is an algae bloom?
Algae is an aquatic plant that is naturally present in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Algae grow while absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and producing oxygen. Nitrogen and phosphorus support the growth of algae, which helps to feed marine wildlife. But, nutrient pollution can cause algae to grow beyond what ecosystems can support. An algae bloom produces toxins while also reducing oxygen in the water, causing large numbers of fish to die. Lately, algae blooms have become bigger, more common and longer lasting. This is the algae bloom crisis.
Who manufactured the algae EVA used in the RPPL?
The algae biomass raw material is manufactured by BLOOM.
BLOOM is a brand of flexible foams driven by algae based technology originating from ALGIX – an eco-innovation company headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi.
To learn more about BLOOM, please visit: https://bloomfoam.com.
How is algae turned into a sneaker material?
Algae biomass is harvested from lakes and rivers that are affected by algae bloom. The algae is dried and turned into an EVA-algae-based hybrid pellet in BLOOM’s polymer facility in Meridian, MS, USA. The pellets are then shipped to our footwear supplier to be incorporated into the foaming stage of EVA of the outsole of the RPPL. Quality control tests are performed by BLOOM to ensure that the harvest is free from algae-produced toxins from decaying algal blooms.
How is using algae keeping CO2 from entering the atmosphere?
Algae sequesters CO2 as it grows, but when a bloom becomes too large, growth slows. Blooms that are left untouched will eventually die, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere. Harvesting algae blooms stores that CO2 in the material produced, while also allowing the harvested area to regenerate, thus storing even more CO2. The algae used is not grown or cultivated but harvested from areas in which nutrient availability is so high that algae growth becomes out of hand.
How has using algae helped clean and filter polluted fresh water?
During the harvesting process, water containing algae is filtered through a harvester unit that skims off the algae, releasing clean water back into the environment. Removing algae also removes the nitrogen and phosphorus it consumed over its lifetime, which helps to counteract nutrient pollution.
How sustainable is EVA-algae-based foam?
BLOOM hired a third-party consulting firm to assess its foam’s full life cycle environmental impact. The analysis found that EVA-algae-based foam is 20 to 41% less environmentally harmful than pure EVA.
How was the 640 grams of CO2 calculated?
The ALDO Group’s Corporate Sustainability team is responsible for verifying environmental claims and calculating eco-facts to help understand how one pair makes a difference. The amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere is calculated based on a life cycle assessment study conducted by our partner BLOOM, which assesses the CO2 carbon capture in algae growth. This study was peer reviewed by a critical panel, including algae experts.
How was the 35 litres of cleaned and filtered water calculated?
The ALDO Group’s Corporate Sustainability team is responsible for verifying environmental claims and calculating eco-facts to help understand how one pair makes a difference. The amount of polluted freshwater cleaned thanks to algae harvesting is based on actual measures from our partner BLOOM on litres of freshwater that have been oxygenated and have had nitrogen and phosphorus removed.
Is algae bad for the environment?
Algae is an essential part of our ecosystem. However, algae negatively impacts our fresh water sources when it becomes overpopulated due to a high presence of nitrogen and phosphorus from industrial production and agriculture runoff. Dense algae growth creates darkness and prevents photosynthesis, causing the algae to consume the oxygen in the water and leaving insufficient amounts of oxygen available for marine animals to survive. Using algae in our shoes helps alleviate this negative impact.
Where is the algae harvested from?
Algae biomass is harvested from fresh water sources such as lakes and rivers that have a high risk of algae overpopulation around the world. Algae is also sourced from water treatment facilities in the US, where it is used as a final decontamination step.
Will I be able to smell the algae in the sneaker?
No. A special odor neutralizer specifically developed for BLOOM has been added in the production process to ensure the algae won’t dispense any odor.
What else is sustainable about your shoe?
The textile used in the shoe’s knitted upper comes from 100% recycled plastic bottles and is certified by the Textile Exchange’s Global Recycle Standard (GRS).
How are water bottles turned into a recycled knit?
Recycled polyester knit is created by a series of processes. Plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are collected from the recycling stream. They are then washed, crushed and cut into flakes. The flakes are melted and made into pellets, which are once again melted and strung into the thread used to make our recycled knit.
How much of our recycled knit material is made from recycled plastic?
Plastic is recycled to make a polyester fiber, which is used in 100% of the shoe’s knit. The recycled plastic is sourced from the recycling stream and is certified by the Global Recycle Standard (GRS).
How much plastic is recycled into a pair of RPPL?
On average, our recycled knit helps prevent the equivalent of 5 plastic water bottles from being thrown out in a landfill. These values are calculated based on certified material certificates provided by our selected suppliers. Plastic recycling is one of the many ways to reduce waste and extend the lifecycle of used products. We used a standard 500 ml (16.9 oz) water bottle to calculate this number.
Does ALDO plan on using more innovative materials?
Our designers and material teams are continually exploring the latest advancements in sustainable materials to incorporate in our products. Our materials will become even more sustainable as we continue to research and implement this in more of our products.
To learn more about Aldo’s sustainability initiatives, please visit: https://responsibility.aldogroup.com