Sneakers made from grape leather: the perfect plant-based and ecological alternative to traditional leather.
Making plant-based sneakers: the culmination of our eco-responsible approach.
At the base of COG project, our desire to become actors in a more ethical and responsible fashion by offering vegan and eco-responsible shoes and sneakers. Since our launch in 2020, our ethical footwear range has consisted of 100% cruelty-free shoes, made without any animal products, in the respect for nature and humans, free of products that could harm living beings.
Since the end of 2022, we have been using it in the manufacture of our Topsy vegan sneakers, a completely new material composed of 80% grape pomace and recycled plastic, produced in Italy. A plant-based solution, perfectly in line with our aspiration to promote ecological, local and ethical fashion.
Through this article, we tell you a little more about this eco-responsible alternative, and the values supported by our brand.
Sneakers made from plant-based materials: our definition of eco-design.
Preserving life, prioritizing recycled materials, ensuring that artisans work in good conditions – that's our definition of ethical fashion, and our concept of luxury.
Our design process is based on both reducing our environmental footprint and considering the health, social, and economic impacts of the shoes we produce. To achieve this, we use innovative alternatives to offer... a solution that respects the planet and individuals.
- Manufacturing of vegan shoes, exclusively free of leather or other animal-derived materials, 100% cruelty-free and certified PETA Approved Vegan.
- Use of eco-friendly and recycled materials (recycled PET, recycled plastic bottles recovered from the Mediterranean [Seaqual], cork, recycled rubber).
- Materials certified OEKO TEX 100.
- European handmade production in Portugal, within small family workshops, where workers operate in good conditions and in complete safety.
Grape-based leather: a further step in eco-design.
Grape-look leather is a synthetic material that imitates natural leather (animal hide). Today, it is used for making shoes. like our Topsy model, of our women's dress shoes
This eco-friendly alternative is made from a mixture of grape pomace (dry residue collected after the harvest), vegetable oils, polyester and water-based polyurethane.
An innovative solution produced by a company based in northern Milan, Italy, this material allows for limit waste and to give a second life to the grape pomace (the remaining skin, seeds and stems are crushed after the juice pressing process), because this material, when not transformed for use in the cosmetics sector, is generally thrown away.
The second advantage of opting for this solution: in addition to being produced less than 500 kilometers from our premises, It perfectly meets our desire to preserve animal life, since it does not require neither breeding nor slaughter.
Finally, thanks to the use of recycled polyester blended with water-based PU, this material proves to be extremely durable and manages to perfectly capture the aesthetic characteristics (texture), of flexibility and resistance animal leather.
Grape leather, a European plant-based material, the flagship of vegan innovation.
Launched in 2020, this new alternative to animal leather, which is imitation leather made from grape waste, is currently produced by only one Italian company.
A major wine-growing region, it is there that the fruit is harvested, picked, and then the recovered pomace is transformed into this innovative material.
Although other plant-based alternatives exist, such as imitation leather made from pineapple (Piñatex), cactus, mango, mushrooms or apple, our team has chosen to turn to this grape-based solution because, in our opinion, it is the option that best meets our aesthetic and ethical expectations: regional fruit And Local transformation, a sustainable and responsible solution.
The 6 steps of transforming grape marc into vegan leather.
- The grapes are harvested and then pressed.
- The grape pomace, which is the residue (skin + seeds + stems) that remains after pressing the grapes to extract the juice, is collected and then dried.
- The waste is shredded and sifted.
- The material is then mixed with vegetable oils, recycled polyester and water-based polyurethane to form a paste.
- This paste is then spread onto a support to form a sheet, then dried, textured and dyed.
- Next comes the stage of cutting the material whose pieces will be used to make our shoes.
FOCUS ON OUR VEGETABLE GRAPE LEATHER SHOES!
Topsy grape leather sneaker: the perfect plant-based sneaker.
At the end of 2022, after more than a year of research and development, COG launched its very first sneaker to use an upper made of this plant-based material: the vegan sneaker. Topsy.
With this new vegan sneaker, our team is taking its commitment to an eco-friendly approach even further, since in addition to using no animal materials, it also features a grape stem, The inner lining and laces of this casual sneaker are made of recycled plastic bottles, and that its insole is made of cork also recycled.
In terms of design, we opted for clean lines and impactful geometry, thanks to bold lines and our easily identifiable bird's foot logo, which sets the tone by combining with our different colors.
The sneaker is available in black, white, beige, red, cobalt blue, black & white, including the timeless blue, white, red, for the “French touch”.
Comfortable and durable, we've made sure our eco-friendly sneaker becomes your best ally on the path to protecting the planet.
Topsy, a tribute in the form of a plant-based sneaker.
Our vegan sneaker is not only eco-friendly, but also a tribute to animal life.
You know our commitment to animal welfare. Well, it's in memory of one of them, who didn't have the chance to be treated with the respect she deserved, that we named our Topsy sneaker.
Topsy, an elephant born in 1867, knew only life in a circus. Exploited and mistreated by her trainer, her end was as tragic as her life.
In 1903, after suffering yet another abuse, Topsy was sentenced to be electrocuted for turning against her trainer and taking his life in self-defense.
That is why our team wanted to pay tribute to the elephant Topsy, so that her story is not forgotten, and that her name resonates with each of our steps for a more sensitive and moral reality.
Our goal is to make our Topsy the new emblem of ethical basketball for committed fashion, and a shoe that not only preserves nature, but also advocates for the cause of life.
Our dress shoes made of vegetable-tanned leather.
As for city shoes, the black versions of our Richelieu women's
Plant-based leather and eco-virtuous materials, for ecological fashion focused on the future.
Over the years, more and more ethical and eco-responsible alternatives have emerged, offering us the opportunity to create models that are more in line with our values, as well as our expectations regarding respect for the environment.
Since February 2023, another of our star models, our unisex high-top sneaker, has been available in a new plant-based version. there
And since eco-friendly alternatives continue to flourish, today, in addition to grape pomace, we use... repurposed inedible cereals (recycled corn) in many COG models, including our
Produced in Europe and in small quantities, shoes designed with respect, from recycled materials, This is our way of leaving a clean footprint on the planet.
Incorporating plant-based materials to gradually replace plastic fibers is the challenge we want to take on. The path to 100% plant-based shoes is long, but we are already very happy to present our new vegan, stylish, and eco-friendly shoe models.
Feel free to share your opinions, ideas and impressions with us.
