Eco-friendly footwear that can be buried after use

Regular readers of Springwise will be aware of various eco-innovations that have sought to create new fashion products from discarded waste. However, Dutch OAT Shoes plans to launch a range of footwear this March focusing on a green end to their product’s life, rather than a green creation. The concept is simple: When it’s time to throw away the OAT Shoe, the wearer simply buries it instead. The shoe is fully biodegradable, and, as such, could be used to help other plants grow. Keen to realize their vision of a fully biodegradable shoe whilst incorporating a stylish design, the team at OAT Shoes were forced to develop and source many of their own materials and processes. OAT Shoes founder Christiaan Maats says, “It makes sense to make products that are part of the planet we party on. We all like the nice bits in fashion, so why not make those bits fully biodegradable?”. It made sense to the judges at the Green Fashion Awards too, where OAT Shoes walked away with a prize. As our sister site trendwatching.com points out, eco-credentials aren’t always enough to see a product succeed, especially in a competitive and design-focused industry such as fashion. To compete with major shoe brands, in remains to be seen whether the OAT Shoe will have the eco-superior credentials to out-style the competition. (Related: From recycled leather scraps, purses with a story, Wine maker uses grape extracts in new cosmetics line, One-of-a-kind kids’ clothes, locally made from reclaimed discards.)