The Vivobarefoot X Bloom collaboration sees the first ever pair of shoes made from removing environmentally damaging Algae from the World’s waterways.

Every pair will help re-circulate 57 gallons of filtered water back into natural habitats, and prevent the equivalent of 40 balloons full of CO2 being released into the Earth’s atmosphere.  The Bloom Foam is created by harvesting algal biomass from freshwater sources at high risk of algal bloom.

Harmful Algal blooms pose an eco-crisis threating marine environments the World over. Chemical wastes –notably containing phosphorous and nitrates, often found in fertilizers – are seeping into our waterways and creating conditions that trigger the uncontrollable growth of Algae. The Algae releases toxins harmful to humans and animals, as well as depleting oxygen in the water and blocking sunlight – vital components to a healthy marine ecosystem. This can lead to mass deaths of local wildlife (marine mammals, fish-stocks, birds) and the pollution of drinking water and the air we breathe.

This is a true revolution for the footwear industry, the first plant-based alternative to the petro-chemicals in ubiquitous use. We are thrilled to be the pioneering company to use Bloom to make shoes, furthering our mission to make the perfect shoe…perfect for feet, with minimal impact on the planet.

Leather is one of man’s oldest materials and has incredible performance characteristics, dealing with sweaty feet and breathability like no synthetic material can match. In most cases, shoes made with quality leather only get better with age.

We use a very high-quality, Ethiopian leather, developed in partnership with Pittards Tannery. It’s soft and durable, but unlike leather from commercially farmed cattle, it’s naturally scarred and sourced from the hides of free-roaming cows reared by small-scale, independent farmers in Africa.