What is sustainability?

The word ‘sustainability’ is frequently used in everyday conversation, but what does it actually mean – especially for the footwear industry?

by Nicola Pichel-Juan

A dictionary definition of ‘sustainability’ would be something like ‘the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level’. When we talk about sustainability in the context of our planet, the ‘Daly Rules’ developed by the World Bank in the 1970s provide a useful framework: i) renewable resources such as fish, soil and groundwater must be used no faster than the rate at which they regenerate, ii) non-renewable resources – for example, minerals and fossil fuels – must be used no faster than renewable substitutes for them can be put into place, and iii) pollution and waste must be emitted no faster than natural systems can absorb them, recycle them or render them harmless to the environment.

We cannot continue to consume resources without replenishing them. An analogy with money would be that you cannot continue to spend money indefinitely without getting into debt unless you are able to somehow replenish those funds.

What does business sustainability look like?

For organisations already struggling with increased costs, sustainability can seem like yet another financial and bureaucratic burden that must be managed. However, true sustainability occurs at the intersection of people, planet and profit, and is often referred to as the ‘triple bottom line’. A shoe developed and manufactured from materials with a low environmental impact is not sustainable if it is so expensive that nobody can afford to purchase it. This would jeopardise the organisation’s long-term financial survival. The ‘people’ element involves considering everyone throughout the product’s value chain, and this calls for engagement with the communities in which the organisation operates while ensuring that there is no exploitation.

As the legislative burden relating to sustainability increases in coming years, with initiatives such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and enhanced reporting requirements, it will be impossible for organisations to ignore sustainability. In fact, those organisations that are acting now are likely to find that they have a competitive advantage, while their competitors must work hard to catch up.

Making more sustainable footwear

One of the biggest challenges to making sustainable footwear is the lack of a universally agreed definition or list of criteria for what constitutes ‘sustainable footwear’. This is not helped by the fact that footwear itself is so diverse, with many distinct types and applications.

If an organisation wishes to place safety footwear onto the market, there are established standards in most parts of the world that the footwear must meet, and these can be verified through testing and certification. However, there are no equivalent standards for sustainable footwear. While it is certainly possible to put together details of sustainability considerations for footwear, trade-offs often have to be made. It is unlikely that any single footwear product will meet every possible sustainability criterion.

Common considerations intended to reduce the environmental impact of footwear include the following: i) reducing its carbon footprint, ii) a transition away from fossil-derived materials to natural or bio-based materials, iii) increasing the volume of recycled material content in the shoe, and iv) designing for end of life to enable the shoe to be broken down and recycled, or even be compostable.

Compromises may have to be made in the development of sustainable footwear, as there is no ‘perfect’ material. A huge move in the fashion industry is taking place towards the utilisation of recycled polyester as a sustainable material (usually made from recycled PET bottles). The environmental benefits are that the production of such material does not involve the extraction of any virgin fossil fuels, and it diverts waste material from landfill sites.

In contrast, significant amounts of energy can be consumed during the recycling process, and the resulting material manufactured for use in footwear and apparel is then difficult to recycle. An argument is often made that it would be more efficient to continue recycling used plastic bottles into new plastic bottles.

When sourcing lower impact materials, it is vital that the material’s intended application is not forgotten. Any sustainable material still needs to meet the necessary performance requirements – for instance, a sustainable upper material must obviously function effectively as an upper material. In some cases, it may be possible to compromise on a material’s performance to reduce a product’s environmental impact. However, if the performance is significantly below the required standard, the product is likely to fail prematurely. This is simply not sustainable in the long run.

Another important consideration is the certification of materials and finished products for sustainability or environmental criteria, with many products on the market displaying so-called ‘eco-labels’. This all adds to the complexity that organisations are trying to navigate in order to be more sustainable, and it can be difficult to know where to start. SATRA recommends thoroughly investigating the validity of any eco-labels before pursuing them, as some have more robust criteria than others.  Additionally, as part of the European Union’s ‘Green Transition’, there will be a crackdown on the proliferation of these labels and schemes.

In conclusion

As this article highlights, there is no single solution to making more sustainable footwear. While there has been a focus on carbon reduction in recent years, this is not the only environmental impact that should be considered. For example, there is also an increasing focus on water footprints and loss of biodiversity.

Although this can all seem daunting, there are practical steps that can be taken to make products more sustainable, and these often have corresponding cost benefits.  It is always important to consider the product throughout its entire lifecycle and supply chain, and to try to make choices at each stage that have a lower environmental impact. Areas for focus could include:

• identifying lower impact materials
• considering by what method and over what distance raw materials are transported to the finished footwear factory location
• optimising production processes
• transitioning to the generation of renewable energy
• minimising waste
• ensuring that products are durable and long-lasting
• avoiding the use of air freight for finished goods
• designing with an end-of-life solution in mind.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 16 of the February 2025 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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