Aldo launches first sustainable shoe collection

Footwear brand Aldo is launching RPPL, its first sustainable shoe collection with trainers featuring a recycled knit upper and algae foam outsole, as part of its wider commitment towards a more sustainable future.

Launching on August 26, the collection will include lace-up and loafer style trainers in three colours - red, black and grey, for both men and women.

The material components of the RPPL trainer include recycled plastic water bottles developed through a recycled knit. The use of the recycled knit reduces the need to extract new raw materials and diverts plastics from landfills, adds the brand.

In addition, the trainers feature an innovative durable rubble sole made from fresh-water harming algae biomass, which has natural thermoplastic properties. Algae is a highly renewable plant source that is capable of doubling in size every 24 hours, explains Aldo, and by using in the collection it states it helping to “rebalance the ecosystem from algae overpopulation which is often caused by factors such as global warming and pollution”.

The making of each pair of trainers recycles 4 plastic bottles, filters 100 litres of freshwater from algae pollution and prevents 1.8 kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

The Aldo RPPL trainers will be available in-store and online and will be priced 70 pounds for women, and 80 pounds for men.

The introduction of a sustainable collection follows the retailer’s bagless initiative to eliminate single-use shopping bags in its stores in Canada, the US and the UK. In addition, the project will see Aldo introducing a new shoebox that will be eco-designed with a built-in paper-made rope to facilitate transport and ultimately eliminate bag use. The shoe box will completely recyclable and made from 80 percent post-consumer recycled materials.

In 2018, the Aldo Group was certified climate neutral by offsetting 100 percent of the carbon emissions produced in 2017 through the company’s corporate stores, offices and distribution centres.

Images: courtesy of Aldo