New Zealand-based sustainable shoe brand YY Nation has released a new collection of court sneakers made using cactus. The release of the Fractus Cactus and the Status Cactus coincided with World Vegan Day (Nov. 1).
According to YY Nation, the cactus court sneaker range is “Crafted using natural materials extracted from shaving cactus plant nopales” and utilizes a wood pulp. The models also feature a Tencel lining that wicks away moisture and provides a cooling temperature regulating effect. The soles are crafted using YY ingredients of either algae or sugarcane.
The brand also lists the carbon emissions for both models: “The Fractus cactus sneaker with Algae sole uses 5.86kg CO2e. The Fractus cactus sneaker with Sugarcane sole uses 6.08kg CO2e compared to an industry average of 14kg CO2e per pair of sneakers.” YY Nation CO2e emissions are, thus, “42 percent to 61 percent lower than conventional sneaker emissions.” YY adds: “YY Nation carbon results were independently analyzed and certificated using ISO 14067 standards by Thinkstep and Ekos.”
In addition to material choices, the YY Nation supply chain has been designed and developed to minimize the YY Nation carbon footprint. Many of the raw materials for YY Nation’s shoe components come from within 65 miles (100km) of its manufacturing home base.
Previous products have featured merino wool and bamboo. Currently, YY Nation products are only available for purchase in New Zealand or the US.
Image source: YY Nation
