In recent years, fashion has woken up and wants to be eco-responsible or ecological.
And shoe brands are not left out.

Eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes: what does that mean?

There is no official definition.
Each brand or each consumer, depending on their sensitivity and priorities, defines what they mean by eco-responsible or ecological shoes.

Eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes: no rules, no control

Eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes could be:
-Products that use recycled materials
-The use of natural materials
-The use of upcycled materials
-Products that do not use animal materials
-Local manufacturing, in France or Europe, to limit travel
-Recyclable products
-Etc

As there is currently no precise definition of what would be eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes, each brand does what it wants.
The terms eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes have very variable realities and levels of commitment depending on the brand.

This is why we see a fast fashion brand that claims to offer eco-responsible shoes because they contain “organic cotton and recycled cotton” and a sole “partially made… in a material largely made from biomass Algae".
We won't know more.

Or that's why we read on the website of another brand that it “plants a tree to offset CO2 emissions”.
I'll let you read the article by Jean-Marc Jancovici or listen to this France Culture podcast “Planting trees to neutralize CO2 : a solution for businesses more than for the climate” to get an idea of ​​the approach (see links at the bottom of this article).

Eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes: what does that mean for UMUS

I told you, I don't like the term "eco-responsible" and apart from in this article, you will not see it in UMUS' communication.

UMUS' commitment, since its creation, has been respect for living things in all its forms.

By following this North Star, the actions we are putting in place to limit our impact on the environment are:
- Choice of natural materials and components*
- Objective of zero synthetic materials *
- No materials of animal origin **
- Local sourcing: mainly in France, otherwise in Europe
- Manufactured in France ***

Eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes: acting beyond the product

We paid particular attention to the product, but this attention was extended to other aspects: packaging, transport, energy, etc.

UMUS' objective is to have a coherent approach across the entire value chain, throughout the product life cycle.

For UMUS, eco-responsible shoes or ecological shoes are not just products, they are an entire chain which must be virtuous and clean.

See also the other articles
Our goal: shoes without plastic, without chemical materials and without any animal materials

Our commitment to quality shoes

*Significant sourcing work has made it possible to identify natural alternative solutions to components and materials which usually contain either animal materials or synthetic materials.
However, for some components, we have not identified an acceptable non-synthetic solution in terms of strength and durability (glue, reinforcements).
In these cases, I made the decision to use these synthetic components, with the mission of replacing them too with alternative natural materials as soon as possible.

** I consider animals to be my friends, and it seemed obvious to me to offer natural plant-based alternatives to materials and components of animal origin.
Furthermore, livestock production is responsible for 14.5% to 51% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to estimates. If we want to have effective action, this is where we must act.

*** To limit the movement of raw materials and products.

Sources

Definitions of actors involved in “clean” fashion - Sloweare
https://www.sloweare.com/qu-est-ce-que-la-mode-eco-responsable/

Definitions of actors involved in “clean” fashion - WeDressFair
https://www.wedressfair.fr/pages/c-est-quoi-une-marque-de-mode-ethique-et-eco-responsable

Plant a tree to offset CO2 emissions
https://jancovici.com/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-and-carbon-cycle/ne-suffit-il-pas-de-planter-des-arbres-pour-compenser- shows/

Planting trees to neutralize CO2: a solution for businesses more than for the climate
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/le-reportage-de-la-redaction/planter-des-arbres-pour-neutraliser-le-co2-une-solution-pour-les-entreprises-plus-que- for-the-climate