Carbon footprint
By upcycling used footwear we keep shoes out of landfill for longer and we prevent new uppers of shoes being made. We remove the old sneaker sole and replace it for a repairable leather sole, we call this process Resoul™.
Calculating the CO2 emissions of our Resoul™ independently proved to be quite a challenge. Therefore, we used publicly shared information to make the following estimation of a standard sneaker’s lifecycle:
A standard sneaker emits 14 kg CO2, from production to end of life.
Life cycle stages of a standard sneaker are:
Material Processing 4 kg CO2 This includes the farming of raw materials and production of synthetic materials, to the point where they are ready to be used in the next step. energy
Manufacturing 9.5 kg CO2 The production of the shoes. Cutting and stitching the upper, attaching the midsole and outsole.
Logistics 0,2 kg CO2 Transportation of materials to factories, transporting finished goods to be sold. Emissions come from fuel used to transport the shoes.
Usage and End of Life 0,3 kg CO2 At the end of life, 85% of sneakers are sent to landfill or incinerated, releasing harmful chemicals.
To calculate the CO2e of our Resoul™ we used the following information: The approximate CO2 emission of a complete leather shoe is 24,5 kg CO2. The sole of a shoe is 53% of the total shoe. Therefore, the CO2e of our Resoul™ is estimated at: 53% * 24,5 kg co2 = 13kg CO2 emission calculated in life cycle analysis for the Resoul™.
From this point there are multiple other calculations we can make.
- Using a used sneaker (thus not making a new sneaker) saves = - 14 kg CO2e
- Saving a pair of existing sneakers from being added to landfill or incineration saves = - 0,3 kg CO2
- Making a Resoul™ adds = + 14 kg CO2
- Making shoes that will last for life saves (5x sneakers + 5x leather shoes) = - 192,5 CO2e
It is up to you to choose what calculation feels the most correct. It all depends on how you, the consumer, chooses to use our products.
Flip side:
The accuracy of our carbon footprint assessment depends on the quality and specificity of the data we have collected. Therefore, we need to add a disclaimer that this information is in no way a display of the actual data. However, we are confident that our estimate is as close to the actual number as we could get. Our future goal would be to have the numbers recalculated using a verified third-party Life Cycle Analysis tool, such as Carbonfact, however we currently do not have the budget for an annual subscription plan of €10.000. The results of our assessment help us identify areas for improvement. Leather has a high CO2e, however we could not find any public data showing the difference between vegetable tanned leather CO2e and chrome tanned leather CO2e. At the moment, we have no plans to stop using leather, however we will be researching leather alternatives in 2025, to offer alternatives to what we have now.
What: Research Leather Resoul™ alternatives
When: 2026