Londonderry, NH, December 6, 2019 – ECCO, the leading family-owned global footwear brand, proudly announces their DriTan™ technology has been awarded Popular Science’s Best of What’s New award for 2019. DriTan, the revolutionary new technology that breaks the paradigm of ten thousand years of leather tanning and tackles the issue of water scarcity head-on, is recognized for its innovation in the recreation category.
“ECCO started with a very simple question, how can we tan leather without water, and is it even possible? Since the company owns all of its tanneries, we recognized that we were in a unique position to make the first step in developing a more sustainable tanning process,” says Thomas Gøgisg, Head of Applied Research, ECCO. “After five years of extensive research and development DriTan was introduced and we’ve made the first solid step towards water-free leather manufacturing. Recognition such as this from Popular Science, is an incredible honor.”
Implemented at its tannery in the Netherlands DriTan will save ECCO 20 liters of water per hide, equal to 25 million liters of water annually, enough water to keep more than 9,000 people hydrated for one year according to WHO figures. DriTan will also eliminate 600 tons of sludge, or roughly 40 truckloads, per year.
“The Best of What’s New is our celebration of the most impactful and exciting innovations of the year,” says Popular Science Editor-in-Chief Joe Brown. “This expertly vetted collection lays the groundwork for a healthier, safer, and awe-inspiring future—in our homes, cities, outer space, and everywhere in between.”
Using only the moisture already present in the hides, DriTan technology produces leather that is indistinguishable from traditionally tanned leather in terms of quality, characteristics, stability and lead-time. Plans to share this water-saving technology with the leather tanning industry are already underway.
Available now, select ECCO Exostrike styles featuring the DriTan leather technology and can be found online at ECCO.com. The DriTan technology will also be found throughout the upcoming Spring 2020 Exohike collection.
