Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

Shoeography | Thursday, April 08, 2021 | 0 comments

For many modern consumers, there's more that goes into making a purchase than simply liking a product. Today's buyers care about the ethics of the company behind the item. They want to know that the business treats its workers with respect, that it values the community it is a part of, and that its production methods don't have a negative impact on the environment. This last factor has a lot of attention lately, especially within the fashion industry.

Shoeography: Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

Sustainable fashion aims to reduce the number of resources fashion companies consume and the amount of waste they generate. All types of consumerism impact the planet and with global retail sales projected to hit $27.7 trillion in 2020, the production of consumer goods hasn't slowed at all. By focusing on sustainability, however, the fashion industry has the opportunity to utilize renewable resources and recyclable materials.

Shoeography: Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

The former director of Bottega Veneta, Mirco Scoccia, is doing just that. After working with luxury brands across Europe and the United States for decades, Scoccia wants to create beautiful Italian footwear that doesn't contribute to fashion's problematic waste issue. Scoccia, who is the current creative director of Aerosoles, has launched a new shoe line called O2 Monde.

Shoeography: Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

"I worked for luxury companies and I just saw so much waste during production. I stopped to think about what could we do to make it more sustainable?," Scoccia said.

Scoccia has crafted a line of women's shoes that include a variety of styles, from comfortable flats and sneakers to chic heels. All of the shoes use sustainable textiles. One of the textiles is Freska, which is made from a mixture of corn and cereal. Another is Pinatex, which is made from pineapple and Vitigna, a leather-like material that comes from grape skins. Scoccia is prioritizing vegan-friendly materials like these and took almost three years to find them. He sourced many of them from the car and interior design industries. With these alternative materials, O2 Monde doesn't have to rely on plastics and synthetics, which are harmful to the environment during production and fill up landfills when they're thrown out.

Shoeography: Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

This commitment to sustainability is the type of initiative that many environmental activists would like to see all companies take. However, getting legislation to regulate this in the United States is difficult. After a proposed amendment has made it through Congress, it still needs to be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Since that hasn't happened yet for a major environmental bill, this leaves it to individual companies, like O2 Monde, to put in the effort to be sustainable.

Shoeography: Bottega Veneta's Former Director Launches Sustainable Shoe Brand

The innovative new collection from O2 Monde includes many styles named after different female activists who have been involved in environmentalism and conservation. For instance, Greta Thunberg, the young environmentalist who took the world by storm in 2019, inspired the collection's Greta sneaker. To push its eco-friendly work even further and offset its environmental impact, O2 Monde will be donating 1% of its profits to One Percent Planet. Check out the new collection today to support a sustainable footwear brand making waves in the fashion industry.

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