Step right

Where do old quilts, leather car seat scraps, and used foam footbeds go after they’ve lived out their lifespan? Certainly not to mattress heaven. Usually they’re just discarded and left to rot in landfill squalor. But in Hong Kong and China, some of these scraps and used materials are reclaimed and used to create luxury footwear for UK brand Terra Plana, a young eco-friendly label that aims to be the most innovative and sustainable designer shoe brand in the world.

Initially created in 1989 in Holland by sculptor Charles Bergman, Terra Plana only seriously delved into the eco-sustainability issue in 2001 when Galahad Clark — of the family that founded popular footwear brand Clark’s — joined the Terra Plana team as joint managing director. And while earth-friendly motives are foremost in their intentions, the brand doesn’t sacrifice on style and design (one of Terra Plana’s top designers used to design footwear for Prada).

Terra Plana uses, aside from quilts and car seat scraps, coffee bags, old jeans, shirts and jackets to come up with quirky designs on heeled pumps, ballet flats, and lace-up stilettos. The label also recycles rubber soles and 90-percent pure latex soles (latex is a natural material that comes direct from the sap of hevea trees). Terra Plana also minimizes on the use of glue, which can be very toxic to the environment. Their shoes utilize different stitched constructions, giving the pairs easy repairability.

Aside from considering the health of the environment, Terra Plana is also concerned about your health. The brand tans their leather using natural vegetable tannins such as oak bark, wattle, chestnut, and mimosa, a dyeing procedure that is more beneficial to your well-being than you realize — 95 percent of all leather used in the world is tanned using the heavy metal chrome, which, in higher levels, becomes a carcinogen.

Lightness and flexibility is also an essential component of eco-design and in Terra Plana’s thrust. Their shoes are incredibly light, thus things are less energy consuming and easier to ship around the world. An anatomic design also offers soles that free your feet with super flexible consistency.

But if flexibility is really a main concern, check out Terra Plana’s Vivobarefoot line, which has shoes that allow your feet to work and walk as designed, that is in bare feet. Vivobarefoot is made with a uniquely thin puncture-resistant Kevlar-protected (you know, that material used in bullet-proof vests?) sole. This extremely thin base strengthens the feet and ankles and improves your posture when standing, walking, and running — normal shoes tilt your body unnaturally and encourage bad running technique.

Terra Plana also has something that vegans and staunch environmentalists might want to consider. In 2004, Terra Plana collaborated with social group Anti-Apathy and created the Worn Again line the following year. Worn Again is 99 percent recycled and creates cool sneakers from recycled materials such as parachute silk, ex-military gear, motorbike tires and car seat textiles. For its recent collections, Worn Again sourced materials from China, where it is made, and the surrounding regions such as Hong Kong, a procedure that reduces carbon emitted from transportation. For its first collection, Worn Again donated a percentage of sales to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Some fans of Worn Again include Leo Di Caprio, Cate Blanchett, Fatboy Slim, and British Opposition Leader David Cameron.

Eco-friendly footwear doesn’t necessarily mean strange-looking hemp sandals or clunky rubber shods. Terra Plana gives us a chance to take a step in the right direction. And look really cool doing so.
* * *
Terra Plana is available at Chocolate Podium, Shangri-la Plaza and Mall of Asia. Or email dopiemanila@yahoo.com for more information.
* * *
E-mail comments to ana_kalaw@pldtdsl.net. Happy Earth Day, everyone. Think green!

Show comments