#HTE

Tied-Together Shoes To Help Workers & The Environment

Designer Roderick Pieters has teamed up with Japan’s Proef to launch Loper, a shoe line that responds to workers’ health issues and reduces waste. After studying shoe design and manufacture, Pieters began thinking about the harmful working conditions and wasteful use cycle associated with keeping our feet neat. 

Glued-sole shoe manufacturing often exposes workers to harmful fumes and chemicals in dangerous amounts. The resulting glue poisoning is a known cause of injury, long-term illness and death among workers. Additionally, glued shoes are difficult to recycle or repair, leading to a higher likelihood of winding up as landfill filling. 

Loper aims to combine the traditional practice of resoling shoes with the casual comfort of modern sneakers or daily kicks. While resoling is an option for a wide range of nicer or more traditional shoe types, it is less common among younger shoe-users and less viable with glued-sole shoes. 

Loper’s glue-free design uses a simply constructed upper and insole, stitched to the sole with thin nylon rope. The assembly requires no glue or exposure to toxics, and can be completed by a small team with limited mechanical or staffing overhead. 

There are two styles of unisex upper, in sizes ranging from EU 36-45. The leather upper is intended to be removed from the base after sufficient wear, and laced to a new one when the time comes. The soles come in a range of colors and will be replaceable by the same small manufacturer where they’re made to order, or even by the customer. Since they hope to make the shoes to order and reduce overhead and waste, the joint design is currently on Kickstarter to gauge interest.

Traditional shoemaking is a complicated balancing act of material choice, ergonomics, style, and engineering. Because shoes have so much to handle, it’s pretty difficult to make simple designs that are both comfortable and sturdy, whether we’re talking fresh Nikes or well-heeled brogues. This design is very very simple, and its sandlesque minimalism will certainly turn some foot-havers off. More involved construction methods like welting and gluing are still used because they’re effective. On the other hand, Loper appeals to existing trends in both minimal/unisex footwear, simple materials, and conscientious design.

Turning suggested reuse into a feature of the product can help consumers consider net impact, and incorporating intended function into visible design elements can advance the conversation too. 

The idea of a simple DIY sole replacement is certainly an interesting step, do you think this version has legs?