All of our shoes are handmade in Italy. As a result, it sometimes occurs that a minor flaw is detected on a shoe. These shoes will no longer be sellable and/or wearable since they do not meet our high quality requirements. But what happens with these rejected shoes?

Unfortunately, it sometimes turns out that shoes are not wearable (anymore). These are rejected by our inspection department and subsequently destroyed as a whole. Fortunately, this is only a small part of the rejected shoes, less than 10%! Because of the fact that our shoes contain many components they are not suitable for recycling. Consider for example the eyelets, lacing tips, gold foil and the use of many different materials such as foam, mesh and leather. If you do not properly disassemble these components and they end up together during the recycling process, this will have greater negative consequences than when the shoes are completely destroyed as a whole. Naturally, we want to prevent these negative consequences.

We are actively looking for a solution to break down rejected shoes in such a way that it is environmentally conscious. For example, in 2019 we developed a shoe together with Coca Cola, consisting of recycled rubber and, as sustainable as possible, responsible leather. In line with this, we are always looking further on how to contribute to a better world.

Thankfully, a very big majority of these rejected shoes are still wearable. These shoes have minor flaws, such as a slightly crooked stitch. Certainly good enough to wear, but they just do not meet our high quality standards. These shoes are donated to various charities. We try to maintain a variety in charities we support so we can serve a wide group of people. From youngsters to elders. Both national and international.