Scarpa’s Mojito Bio, the brand’s first 100 percent biodegradable shoe with a performance rubber sole, was recognized as an industry winner in the third-annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards, an award that recognizes the outdoor industry’s most innovative product releases each season. 

The Mojito Bio, available at retail Spring 2021, earned third-party certification for its biodegradability from Intertrek. At the end of its life, 85 percent of the shoe will decompose after 450 days in a landfill. Shoes made with conventional materials, by contrast, take 40-to-50 years to decompose, and the midsole of many running shoes can last up to 1,000 years in a landfill.

The Mojito Bio uses a biodegradable EVA midsole, while the outside uses a biodegradable rubber blend — a first to market product. The upper is made from Bio Knit fabric, a breathable material made from biodegradable fibers. The lining is cotton and all other components are biodegradable. The construction uses water-based, non-polluting adhesives. The Mojito Bio is the sustainable derivation of Scarpa’s Mojito. 

“With 300 million pairs of shoes getting tossed out by Americans each year to pile up in landfills, footwear is a good segment to focus on for biodegradable materials,” said Cameron Martindell, Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award judge and journalist. “Scarpa did well to target its highest-volume selling shoe to prove the biodegradable footwear concept and to make the biggest impact it could. Traditionally, shoemaking uses toxic adhesives, materials and has toxic waste byproducts, meaning it took a considerable amount of innovation to eliminate those elements and pioneer a new path.” 

“Outdoor consumers appreciate a healthy environment. More sustainable choices in footwear not only help provide a solution tying into the passions of consumers in our industry, but they also help lead the way beyond our industry as the world grapples with complex issues like mounting environmental pollution,” said Kim Miller, CEO, Scarpa NA. “Companies can do better by choosing to pioneer and use better technologies. Scarpa wants to be part of that change. We are excited to unveil this in our single highest-volume style, and we plan to use more of these technologies across more of our products in the coming seasons.” 

For more product information, go here.

Photo courtesy Scarpa