Decker’s owned Sanuk, the California shoe brand most known for its easy going slide ons, has launched a shoe made with Yulex—a natural rubber coming from FSC-certified forests in Guatemala.
By Esha Chhabra, Contributor, Forbes
First launched by Patagonia in wetsuits, the same material is relevant in shoes. The Chiba Journey LX are meant to be worn on rocky shores, up mountains, and even in the water. Designed in tandem with Ramon Navarro, a surfer and eco-warrior out of Chile, who had expressed the need for a more rugged shoe from Sanuk, able to take on rougher terrain, the Chiba Journey LX uses the same materials as those found in Patagonia swimsuits. This all-weather sturdy, slip in design doesn’t scream eco-friendly from any angle.
Using Yulex in the outsole as well as recycled materials throughout, the Chiba is part of Sanuk’s broader vision to incorporate more bio-based materials in their shoes
Yulex, which had been used by Patagonia, comes from Guatemala’s FSC certified rainforests. Hevea trees that have been planted in the region are tapped and managed for their latex production, an alternative to synthetic rubber made from oil.
Read entire article at forbes.com
