SAOLA FW21 Collection

SAOLA is a French footwear company that creates sustainable, casual, and cute shoes for women and men with eco-friendly materials. Eco-construction is the central pillar of SAOLA's shoe development. The shoe brand uses recycled polyester, organic cotton, renewable cork, and bio-based polymers from algae to make its products.

For our Fall Winter 2021 season, we have focused our development on always more sustainable materials. Our classic and bestselling Cannon styles have been improved with new design details and much nicer materials. Our Mindo waterproof will be a perfect style for your more active customers and the perfect commuter bike shoes! And last, because you can’t be always outside, we have added some comfy recycled wool type lining made of recycled PET to our Sequoia espadrille to make it your perfect modern slipper.

MINDO WATERPROOF WOMEN + MEN

A winter version of one of our top selling summer styles. The Natural Tex membrane provides waterproofness while the knit ensures breathability. Stretchy knitted ankle cuff hugs your ankle, making them easy to wear. The comfort of an athletic shoe paired with minimalist, urban style.

NISEKO II MEN

In vegan leather, the NISEKO is a delicious blend of lightness and elegance. Mostly made of recycled plastic bottles, algae, cork and organic cotton, the NISEKO’s are super light and comfy. This season, we have added recycled wool type lining made of recycled PET for extra warmth to make it your perfect fall – winter go to shoes.

CANNON VEGAN LEATHER WOMEN + MEN

Timeless style, lightness, comfort and sustainability make the CANNON SAOLA’s best seller. For this season, we revisited it with a new top quality vegan leather, made of recycled plastic bottles and PU. This new version will continue to make this style a top performer. A winter must-have.

CANNON CANVAS MEN

Algae Foam outsole is made with algae biomass and is surprisingly lightweight. So, they’re easy to wear and easy to pack. Rubber panels at high contact assure long-lasting durability. Algae Foam + cork insoles provide comfortable cushion, and removable if you other insole needs. Upper deliver the look and feel of jeans but are made with recycled PET from platic bottles. There are 3-4 recycled bottles in every pair.

SEQUOIA WOMEN + MEN

We could not live without it in the fall winter! Following our customer’s advice, we decide to turn this so comfortable & easy to wear summer espadrille into your perfect winter slipper. The wool type lining made of recycled PET will bring warmth (but not too much as you won’t use them in freezing temperatures we hope!) and coziness during those cold winter evening.

YAMBA WOMEN

The new YAMBA low boots is the perfect combo between fashion and active styles. Made of all our sustainable materials, these super light low boots will keep your feet comfy all winter long. We have added recycled wool type lining made of recycled PET for extra warmth to make it your perfect fall – winter go to shoes.

MATERIALS

WHAT EXACTLY IS VEGAN LEATHER?

When fall winter comes, we like wearing shoes that keep our feet warm and dry. To achieve this goal, we are using vegan leather on our shoes but what is SAOLA’s Vegan leather made out of? It’s a mix of recycled plastic (40%) and polyurethane (60%).

PET is known as the plastic used to make food packaging and plastic water bottles. It goes through a cleaning, grinding and melting process that results in thread giving second life to plastic and reducing trash in our landfills. Polyurethane, also called PU is a material that has the look and feel of leather, but doesn’t require animal skin. It has many advantages as it’s a vegan material, resistant and has a very soft feel. Mixing PU and reclyced plastic, results in a high-performance sustainable material.

ALGAE

Rising temperatures and excess chemicals in our lakes and rivers contribute to the growth of algae – harming the lives of plants, animals and humans. We’ve partnered with the team at Bloom Foam to harvest harmful algae and create eco-friendly, bio-sourced materials for the insoles and outsoles for our shoes. Bloom Foam removes harmful algae from the water and puts it through a process that dries, crushes and converts it into powder. This powder is then mixed with EVA (a synthetic material) to become Algae Foam, used for sole construction. Using Algae Foam allows us to use fifteen to twenty percent less synthetic materials in our soles, cleans lakes of harmful algae, and prevents thte release of CO2 into the atmosphere. Now that’s what we call a win for mother nature, and a win for your feet.

RECYCLED PET

SAOLA’s uppers are made with the contents of your recycling bin. Not quite that simple, but bottom line is that polyester and plastic bottles are made from the same substance, and the latter can be recycled into the former. The plastic bottles end up at your feet instead of seeing them in the oceans or our bins. Our PET supplier is accredited by the “Recycled Global Standard” certification, which ensures the traceability of the production line of these materials.

CORK

Cork is a natural and highly renewable material harvested from the bark of cork trees. This process causes no harm for the trees. In fact, harvesting the bark can extend the trees lifespan to over 200 years. Cork also creates a healthy walking environment for your feet, as they mold to the shape of your foot, reduce joint stress, and are odor resistant. These are the reasons why we decided to use it on our insoles.

ORGANIC COTTON

Cotton cultivation represents only 2,4% of the agricultural area but it uses nearly one quarter of the pesticides sold in the world. That’s why we decide to use organic cotton for our laces. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are replaced by natural compost, and this cotton requires half as much water as traditional cotton. The end-result is cotton that is softer, more flexile and way kinder to the planet.

NATURETEX

NatureTex is a new sustainably made membrane developed by Cosmo, one of the world’s leader in waterproof solutions. The membrane is made of 100% recycled PES & PET from plastic bottles and delivers the high level of weather protection required for outdoor recreation.

Read more about SAOLA on the brandpage: fashionunited.com/companies/saola-shoes