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Meet the world’s first truly biodegradable sneakers

Posted on March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 by dishanth

New Zealand eco-footwear startup Orba says it has created the world’s first biodegradable eco sneakers. The shoes are designed to fully fall apart and decompose at the end of their life, leeching no toxins into the soil. They have been created to address an alarming issue, that of billions of shoes ending up in landfill each year.

Traditionally manufactured shoes contain materials and glues that do not biodegrade. They can take anywhere between 40 to 1,000 years to fully break down, creating toxins and carbon emissions as they do so. Most commercially available footwear contains a high percentage of plastic and synthetics, from soles to uppers.

While Orba claims to be the first truly biodegradable sneaker (and it appears it is the first to be commercially available), Brooklyn-based sneaker company Kengos debuted their beta Lace-Up model back in 2020 and described it as “biodegradable, vegan-friendly and made from 98% plant-based materials”, while Canadian designer Luc Houle launched a Kickstarter for a shoe that is “not only biodegradable, but can grow into an apple tree in its afterlife.”

Identifying a need

Orba cites 20 billion as the number of shoes made, each year, that contain synthetic materials that can’t biodegrade. The company claims to take an alternative route, by sourcing materials from nature, which makes them more sustainable and suitable for reclamation by soil.

The ‘Ghost’ sneaker is Orba’s contribution to the circular economy. A tested biodegradable sneaker, it is backed by science and independent audits to negate greenwashing concerns. Although biodegradable, Orba has set itself a target of making its shoes fully compostable in the future. The Ghost line has been available for six months, to date.

“We launched our Orba Ghost just six months ago, so to achieve both national and global recognition like this is incredibly exciting and validates our approach to design and sustainability,” co-founder Gillian Boucher said in a statement.

Composition of change

Orba has broken down its eco sneakers into individual composite parts, to offer full material transparency. The soles, traditionally made from petrochemical-based rubber, are created using natural rubber, rice husk and coconut oil. (Beeswax is included, making the shoes unsuitable for vegan shoppers, but alternatives are available). Uppers use flax canvas, hemp, and nettle, all of which are renewable and regenerative crops that can grow without pesticides. The footbed is a combination of cork, coir, and agave sisal.

Water-based glues are used throughout, though they are not natural or plant-based yet. Orba states this clearly and says it is looking to find a suitable alternative that will last a full life cycle and biodegrade at end of use.

A certified B Corp, Orba claims to have identified the effects of fast and synthetic fashion and sought to provide a solution. Careful to make every part of the supply and manufacturing chain transparent, it offers an alternative to the increasingly unreliable green claims of big brands.

Future goals include the development of 100 percent eco-certified shoes made from 100 percent eco-certified materials and glues. Alongside, it will aim to provide an in-depth analysis of its operational impact, including carbon footprint.

Hanging the greenwashers out to dry

Greenwashing has become a seemingly everyday activity for the fashion industry. Keen to cash in on a shift in consumer trends and motivations, companies are increasingly claiming to align with sustainable materials and practices. In reality, many are simply paying lip service and offering no traceability or proof of their newfound eco-credentials. Numerous steps are being taken to prevent greenwashing from continuing, including class action lawsuits and new legislation.

Changing Markets Foundation recently took repeat offenders to task with a protest at London Fashion Week and a greenwashing expose website lunch. Greenwash.com is styled as a virtual launderette, giving visitors a chance to see which brands and products are falling short of genuine environmental progress.

Source Green Queen

US Army beats US Postal Service to electric vehicle punch

Posted on March 7, 2022 by dishanth

The US Postmaster General has blown off the electric vehicle revolution, but the US Army can show him how it’s done. The Army just launched a net zero goal and the Army Reserve already has an electrification plan for its non-tactical vehicles with a zero emission goal by the end of FY 27. That’s partly on account of climate change, and competition from near-peer adversaries also comes into play.

Climate Change & National Defense

The US Department of Defense is well aware that climate change is a leading national security threat, having included climate impacts in its Quadrennial Defense Reports going back to 2010. In 2020, the US Air Force proposed a carbon negative goal across all the Armed Services, and last month the US Army announced a net zero goal.

Not to be confused with the National Guard, the US Army Reserve consists of soldiers who serve part-time and train regularly. Their main mission is to fill Army jobs that are vacated when active duty soldiers get deployed, though if the need is great, the Reserve can be deployed as well.

The US Army Reserve is right on point with the Defense Department’s messaging on climate change. Earlier this month it published an overview of its EV plans, leading with the observation that “climate change and near-peer adversary innovations demand the Army diversify energy sources” and focus on “energy efficiency and resilience.”

The US Army, Near-Peer Adversaries, And…

The pairing of climate change with the emergence of peer and near-peer threats is an interesting one, because it is directly relevant to the US posture towards Russia, which embarked on a murderous, unprovoked rampage through neighboring Ukraine last week.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey set the stage for that attack seven years ago, in a speech at the Danish Army Academy in 2015. The speech was intended to underscore an experience gap in the US armed services. Americans who served during the Cold War had a different experience regarding peer threats, compared to those who came after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Dempsey noted that signs of a shift in ground came with the 9/11 attack, which exposed US vulnerabilities at home, but the real game-changer came in 2012, when Russia overran and annexed Crimea. Russia literally changed its borders, leveraged ethnic tensions, and undermined credibility of NATO.

“It’s the first time in 41 years we’ve had a legitimate risk emanating from state actors,” Dempsey observed.

Foreshadowing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dempsey warned that the US needs to step back into its Cold War mindset and prepare, once again, to face equivalent threats.

Those fighting today need to “understand how to live in that world, understand how to use the military instrument in that world, understand the meaning of deterrence, understand the meaning of maneuver and how to set a theater,” he concluded.

Dempsey’s words rippled out in force just one year later in 2016, when former President Trump won election as a friend of Russia, an enemy of NATO, and an alleged extortionist accused of withholding military aid to Ukraine in exchange for a political favor.

…Tanks, But No Tanks

That brings us around to the US Army and the electric vehicle question. The Army has been slow on the EV uptake. The consensus is that 100% electrification is a long way off for tanks and other tactical vehicles, though fuel efficiency improvements and plug-in hybrids are within sight. Last week the Army unveiled two hybrid electric Bradley tank prototypes, pointing out tactical benefits like silent drive, as well as fuel efficiency and ease of maintenance.

In terms of tank warfare, though, something has to change. The US experience in Iraq demonstrated tactical and logistical shortcomings, and now Russia is providing another demo. Within days after Russia first invaded Ukraine, reports of fuel shortages began to emerge, along with photos and videos of Russian tanks and other vehicles abandoned by the roadside. Military observers have also noted that the soft ground has forced Russian tanks to stay on roads, where they are more vulnerable, and that tanks are ill suited to warfare in urban settings, where Russia has been focusing much of its efforts.

More Electric Vehicles For The US Army

The US Marines Corps saw the writing on the wall several years ago and handed off its tanks to the US Army, which is still committed to tanks. However, the Army is hedging its bets, in the form of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program.

The JLTV program is led by the Army, and it will supply the Marines Corps as well. The aim is to develop a new vehicle that can “close an existing capability gap,” which indicates a focus on off-road and urban warfare.

The program involves a 2-seat and a 4-seat version, both of which can be helicoptered into their use points if road or marine travel is less than optimal, reducing the need for long, vulnerable convoys.

“Its maneuverability enables activities across the spectrum of terrain, including urban areas, while providing inherent and supplemental armor against direct fire and improvised explosive device threats,” the Army notes.

To the extent that the JLTV replaces tanks, the potential for the electrification of tactical vehicles suddenly pops into view, and at least one US Defense contractor is already has an eye on that opportunity.

So, What About An Electric JLTV For The US Army?

Last month, Oshkosh Defense debuted its concept for a hybrid electric JLTV, the eJLTV, billed as the “first-ever silent drive hybrid-electric Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.”

“The eJLTV offers the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps the same level of performance and protection as the base JLTV with the addition of silent drive, extended silent watch, enhanced fuel economy, and increased exportable power that enables it to be used in combat and reconnaissance scenarios,” Oshkosh enthused.

Full electrification is going to take a while, but an all-electric JLTV seems more doable than an all-electric tank, especially if fuel cells come into play. In addition, the US Army is edging towards an electrification program for its Light Reconnaissance Vehicles. If you have any thoughts about that, drop us a note in the comment thread.

Meanwhile, the US Army Reserve has launched an EV program for its non-tactical vehicles. The initial phase of the program involves installing 27 Level 2 charging stations with multiple ports at 3 US Army Reserve facilities in Washington and California, along with the delivery of 60 all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

After FY 23, the pace will pick up sharply.

“The Phase 1 Army Reserve EV pilot program will conclude in FY23. Phase 2 will add 96 vehicles to 9 facilities, Phase 3 will more widely rollout 934 vehicles to 101 facilities, and Phase 4 will add 962 vehicles at the remaining 650 facilities. The future all-electric Army Reserve NTV fleet will include over 2,000 vehicles at 763 total facilities,” the US Army Reserve writes.

There, Was That So Hard?

Against this backdrop, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s decision to lock the Postal Service into a massive new purchase plan for gas-powered delivery trucks seems rather dated. After all, lots of other trucks are being electrified, including garbage trucks and fire trucks.

Speaking of electric fire trucks, Oshkosh Defense makes those. The company has also stated that its winning mail delivery truck was purpose-designed for gas or electricity. Between one thing and another, there may be a pathway for electrification in that Postal Service contract after all.

As for Russia, as of this writing, it has not given up on tank warfare. Eventually it may declare some sort of victory, but when the shooting stops, the war crimes trials will begin. Russia’s position and economic status in the world will be crippled for generations to come, just as it was during the Cold War.

Follow me on Twitter @TinaMCasey.

Photo: A prototype hybrid electric tank is part of the US Army’s electric vehicle plans (photo courtesy of US Army).

Source I Love Tesla

From sneakers made of banana leaves to fish scale dresses, fashionistas hunt for eco-friendly materials

Posted on March 1, 2022 by dishanth

Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales – the search for sustainable materials has taken the fashion industry to some wild places.

Experts warn these new textiles are not a quick fix for fashion’s enormous problems with over-consumption and waste, but may be a necessary step in developing cleaner technologies.

“You could possibly eat the final product,” said Hannes Schoenegger, co-founder of Bananatex, which uses leaves from banana ..

He was speaking at the Premiere Vision Paris conference, where industry professionals gather to find out which fabrics will dominate coming seasons.

“We only harvest the sides of the plants, and they’re already growing in the forest, so no chemicals, pesticides or even water are used,” Schoenegger added.

He was among multiple stalls presenting new bio-sourced materials.

Brazil-based Nova Kaeru offered leather made from the discarded scales of the giant pirarucu fish and another from the tropical “elephant ear” plant.

Nearby, Ananas Anam showed off some Nike shoes made from waste pineapple leaves.

Nettles are in
These textiles can be relatively niche, but some companies are determined to bring them into the mainstream.

Spanish firm Pyratex offers multiple options, from recycling the waste of corn and sugar cane production, to making fibres from Icelandic seaweed, Chinese bamboo or Austrian wood.

“It’s not about replacing cotton with one alternative crop. It’s about finding a wide variety of substitutes to make sure that nothing is over-used,” said spokesperson Pilar Tejada Lopez.

One plant getting particular interest is the nettle, which can be turned into a silk-like and incredibly strong fabric that can be used in everyday and luxury clothing.

It highlights the fact that many of these technologies are not new.

“Nettles have actually been used for clothing for centuries, but we have largely forgotten,” said Lopez.

“Part of our job is reintroducing these ideas that have been lost.”

Natural limits
Others warn of over-reliance on new materials in the drive towards sustainability.

“Replacement materials serve no purpose if we continue to make the same amount of clothing,” said Victoire Satto, of The Good Goods, a media firm specialising in responsible fashion.

They could even add to the problem if scaled up by encouraging further deforestation to make way for newly fashionable plants, she said.

That is why companies like Baananatex refuse to go beyond natural farming limits.

“Our project is part of a reforestation programme, a good way of revitalising soils and providing work to local families,” said Schoenegger.

“There’s a natural limit and we won’t go beyond that, because then it would be harmful.”

Pyratex similarly puts a lot of emphasis on partnering with responsible farmers, and avoiding the ultra-complex supply chains that make it difficult for clothing companies to know who grows their raw materials and in what conditions.

But Satto says more research is also needed on the durability of bio-sourced materials, since half the ecological damage from an item of clothing is linked to its disposal.

“If the product only lasts six months, that’s enormous in terms of environmental impact,” she said.

Iterations
Ifeanyi Okwuadi, an award-winning British designer, says his focus is on how clothes are made – not what they are made from.

“When I speak about sustainability, I’m talking about the construction – right down to using the right stitch-length for each stitch because that kind of minute detail affects the longevity of the garment when you put it in the wash,” he said.

He says many bio-sourced materials are still evolving.

“Right now, there’s a lot of buzzwords to draw you in, but eventually we won’t need to say it’s from bananas or whatever — it will just be plant-based fibres.”

“I don’t use them in my work because the tech at the moment is quite primitive. But I see them as iterations, like with all technology, and we need these innovations.”

Source Economic Times