Reformation relaunches footwear, with focus on traceable leather
Sustainability-focused, Los Angeles-based fashion brand Reformation recently relaunched its footwear collection, Ref Shoes, after taking a break from the category (first released in 2019) following a struggle to make what it considers to be environmentally friendly shoes, component by component - beyond just the articles’ upper.
Previously, the company’s footwear was made in China and Portugal, but a new approach to materials has led it to source from Brazil, owing to the country’s relatively traceable leather supply chain.
Today, Reformation and its local partners know 100% of the Brazilian farms Ref Shoes’ leather comes from, according to the brand’s website, meaning that it can advertise to its eco-conscious customers that “no biomes were harmed” in the making of their shoes.
Reportedly, 97% of its leather is now batch-level traceable and the company works exclusively with Leather Working Group gold- and silver-rated tanneries.
In its social media launch campaign, which stressed how much the brand believes that shoes “suck” (in terms of their production), Reformation repeatedly criticised the notion of petrochemical derivatives - or plastic - as being valid, sustainable alternatives to leather. It also told its audience that its new, 2.0 materials outlook had allowed it to reduce the use of virgin plastic across its footwear by 75%.
A related development will see Reformation team up with Looptworks on a take-back initiative, which will allow it to recycle all of the shoes it produces.
Image: Reformation.
