Take the Leap Into Sustainability

Let’s face it: sustainability hasn’t always been a top priority for the footwear industry. Product development is a demanding process that often leaves brands feeling like they have to forego eco-friendly choices for more traditional ones. For decades, the safe route was to stick with petrol-based materials and leave sustainability to the future.

Luckily, the future has arrived. We’ve entered an era where adding bio-based and recycled materials to your footwear is less of a hassle—and never a compromise on the quality or comfort of your footwear.

Game Changers for Sustainability

Why is now the best time to take the leap into sustainability? Three factors make it the right choice not just in the future, but for the present.

Material Performance

No matter what materials you’re using for your footwear, they have to live up to your customers’ expectations for comfort. This means foams that deliver tried-and-true benefits like shock absorption and energy return—with a durability that’s sure to last the life of the shoe.

Maybe you’ve been hesitant to adopt sustainable foams in the past because they tear easily or flatten out quickly, or because they don’t give you the same rebound or support. Thanks to decades of research and innovation, that’s no longer the case! Many bio-based compounds can deliver the same ASTM Standard test results as their petrol-based counterparts. That means you don’t have to give up feeling great in your shoes to feel great about your material choices.

Resource Stability

A lot of footwear foams like PU and EVA are derived from petroleum. While the infrastructure for petroleum is well established, international affairs and natural disasters can have a devastating effect on supply chains. Even without those factors, petroleum is a finite resource that is becoming increasingly difficult to extract.

Bio-based and recycled PU materials can help you avoid some of the logistical risks—and the associated costs—of petrol-based solutions. Many feedstocks for bio-based materials like corn or castor are reliably available through existing supply chains. And as these supply chains become more ingrained, they also become more of a windfall to your production budget.

A Growing Market

Of course, the biggest reason to take the leap into sustainable materials is, it’s what your customers want.

Sustainable products used to be a category all to themselves. But as more people experience the effects of climate change, they’ve come to expect sustainability as the baseline for everything they buy. Using bio-based or recycled materials demonstrates your commitment not only to their comfort, but also to the health of their environment.

Take the Leap With INSITE

If you’re ready to jump into sustainable foams, INSITE’s got you covered. For the last few years, we’ve been working hard to bring you bio-based PU products that check every box you need for performance and sustainability.

Our Levation™ poured PU insole foam is made with up to 70% bio-based compounds, thanks to partners like Susterra® Bio-PDO™ helping us maximize both physical properties and bio-content. Our EcoComfort® open cell PU foams can be made with up to 50%, with exciting new options for recycled versions on the way.

Get in contact with us today, and let’s take the leap together.