The Footwear Technology Center of La Rioja has been awarded as best eco-design project by IED Madrid in its first edition for the year 2016. The winning project: the new shoeline developed for the footwear manufacturer Calzados Zel’s called FABIOLAS NO-TRACE.
The eco-design project, leading to the final product FABIOLAS NO-TRACE, aimed at replacing the most contaminating components of the shoe and creat a sustainable shoe with reduced carbon footprint. The FABIOLAS NO-TRACE are the result of an exhaustive research carried out in collaboration with the footwear manufacturer Calzados Zel’s. The aim was to develop a new shoe line with minimal environmental impact. Herefore, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out on the components of a conventional espadrille. The LCA showed that the outsole counted for 77% of the impact, whereas the upper, packaging and insole count for just 23% of the impact.
Therefore, the main focus of the eco-design was placed on the parts that had most environmental impact, the sole. To improve the environmental properties of the espadrille, the whole concept of the shoe was completely redesigned, incorporating recycled materials, natural fibers and innovative process. The resulting FABIOLAS NO-TRACE present better technical properties and more environmentally friendy reducing the carbon footprint up to 78%.
The awarded project that resulted in the new shoe line made of recycled scrap tyres, natural fibres, recycled materials and Piñatex™, a novel natural textile made from pineapple leaves fibres. The project also integrated the redesign of the packaging, using recicled materials, and the restyling of the whole brand.
The project was carried out based on the 6 Rs checklist to evaluate the environmental impact: Reduce, Rethink, Refuse, Recycle, Reuse, Repair.
