Puma compostable sneaker goes on sale

Sports giant Puma is making a commercial version of its experimental Re:Suede sneaker, the Re:Suede 2.0, available for sale. It follows a two-year pilot project that showed it was able to successfully turn the shoe into compost under tailor-made industrial conditions.

As part of that experiment, the company produced 500 special pairs of its Suede sneaker to be worn by volunteers with materials selected for their ability to decompose, such as Zeology tanned Suede. 

And it’s now made available the same numbers of pairs of the commercial version that have gone on sale as of this week on its own webstore and via Zalando Plus.

It said the commercial version has been developed to incorporate the lessons learned during the experiment and the feedback received from the volunteers.

Puma Chief Sourcing Officer Anne-Laure Descours said the 2.0 launch “is an important step towards finding viable end of life solutions for our footwear. While we are excited about this progress, we will continue to innovate with our partners to determine the infrastructure needed for a scalable long-term solution, essential for achieving meaningful impact in waste reduction.”

Once the shoes are worn out, customers can return them for free and Puma will send the sneakers to its partners so they can be put through the industrial composting process. In exchange for sending them back, customers will receive a 20% discount on their next purchase.