Being a responsible company is an ever evolving process, so at she wear, we are always striving to be more responsible and ethical in our manufacturing practices.
We have very strict global health and safety standards to adhere to to achieve our safety and work/occupational footwear global certifications, so it can be a challenge to ensure materials are environmentally friendly, safe AND durable. For many years, we've been asked for a vegan alternative to our leather work boots and it is an option our founder, Stacey, has desperately wanted to develop. However, in her own research, she discovered most non leather alternatives are plastic based, terrible for the environment, not durable or high quality and are not breathable or comfortable. Stacey has created several prototypes over the last 4-5 years and they've just not been up to she wear's extremely high standards!
Our footwear is designed for all day wear and we need to ensure relevant materials stand up to the task and we've always refused to manufacture sub par or inferior products. Finally, we've discovered a material that is durable enough, animal free and more environmentally friendly than standard faux leather or "pleathers", and so we've created our new Considers safety work boot.
Considers is produced with a bio based microfibre upper and is our very first non leather work boot. Bio technology has led to the advancement of bio based materials that are derived from natural renewable resources (like corn, agricultural or forestry wastes) rather than fossil fuels, and therefore more sustainable and eco friendly. Research shows bio based production processes consume up to 40% less energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% compared to petroleum based materials.*
Our bio based microfibre is sleek, soft, comfortable, and breathable with high durability. So if your preference is for vegan or non leather footwear, the Considers safety work boot is for you!
* DuPont research