“Supplier of Sustainable Technologies”: ASSOMAC study on Sustainability.
In the hard environmental and social challenges due to climate change and the depletion of resources, the effectiveness of solutions will depend on the creativity, innovation and audacity so characteristic of the fashion industry.
The environmental impact of the industries that produce footwear is studied by observing the life cycle of the products, which we can divide into seven different phases. This results in measurable results in greenhouse gas emissions, Greenhouse Gases (GHG), for each phase of the life cycle. Over 60% of the emissions come from two phases: production and extraction of raw materials.
- Obtaining raw materials for shoes, produces 20% of emissions.
- Spinning, weaving and tanning, 14% of emissions.
- Produce the necessary parts for the shoes, through cutting processes and the connection between all the components, 43%.
- Sewing and assembling footwear impacts 20%.
- The production of shoe boxes, 1%.
- Transport to shops, 2%.
- The collection and management of footwear products at the end of their useful life (incineration and landfilling) has an absolutely insignificant impact, therefore 0%.
When looking at the extraction of raw materials, leather footwear has the highest impact on the ecosystem due to breeding, the environmental impact of which is calculated pro quota also on by-products such as leather. Instead, synthetic shoes have the highest impact on polyethylene and polyester materials, due to the exhaustion of fossil-based resources, while fabric shoes have their point of greatest impact in the cultivation of cotton.
