Looking for a sustainable pair of shoes?

A whopping 405 backers have pledged €43,803 to help bring an Irish company’s uniquely green sneakers to the market.

Sampla – the Irish word for example – is comprised of a small group of friends from Cork, Waterford, Galway and Dublin. Inspired by the classic tennis silhouettes of the Seventies and Eighties, Sampla’s shoes are unisex, designed in Cork and ethically crafted in Portugal using vegan materials.

The upper part of the shoes is made from apple skin, which is produced by repurposing leftover apple waste from the juice industry in Bolzano, northern Italy. Even the laces are made from organic cotton that isn’t treated with pesticides, insecticides or herbicides.

The shoes are packed in a special shoebox that doubles as a delivery box, with packaging made from recycled cardboard – all 100% biodegradable, of course.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sampla (@samplafootwear) on Aug 28, 2020 at 6:13am PDT

Now that the shoes are a hit, you can expect to start spotting them on your more eco-friendly mates in the coming weeks as the first orders are shipped.

“We are blown away from the support that we’ve received throughout the campaign and thanks to it, we can continue on the adventure of creating footwear that gives elegance without consequence.” says founder Finbarr Power, who has been working on the concept for two years and launched the first Kickstarter campaign in July.

“Together with Trees on the Land, we will be planting 426 indigenous trees at selected sites around Ireland. With the vision of establishing tree cover and woodland in rural and urban areas that will serve ecosystems for many years to come.”