The environmental performance of footwear in an eco-friendly company and recommendations to increase sustainable value creation

Abstract

The fashion industry ranks among the world’s most polluting sectors, where the production of footwear plays a significant role in terms of sales and environmental impact. The manufacturing of conventional footwear uses synthetic rubber, genetically modified cotton, chromium tanned leather, and chemical-based adhesives. The production and disposal of these materials require large quantities of water and energy, contribute to GHG emissions and produce toxins that are harmful to both human and ecosystem health. To address these issues, some companies have started to identify ways to embrace sustainability as a business opportunity, by using non-conventional materials in their products or adopting alternative business models. Nonetheless, due to the wide range of natural and synthetic materials and several footwear designs, it is extremely difficult for companies to implement the findings from previous studies regarding sustainable value creation in the footwear industry.

To assess the environmental performance of footwear made with alternative materials, a Life Cycle Assessment is carried out for three different footwear models. The vast majority of the impact is incurred during the upstream processes, whereas the transport of materials to shoe manufacturer, production and assembly of the footwear, as well as its distribution and end of life have a minor contribution to the overall impact of the product. Using this approach, it is estimated that the impact of the model with the highest amount of alternative materials has the best environmental performance. Moreover, the foremost culprit for the performance of the other two models is the leather, since the material is responsible for not less than 70% of their total impact.

Furthermore, a range of interviews and an online survey are conducted to understand the main drivers of shareholder and stakeholder value. Thereby, based on the findings of the LCA and interviews, an array of recommendations are proposed to increase the sustainable value creation of an eco-friendly footwear company.