WODEN designs shoes with a responible mindset. WODEN shoes are detailed with fish skin, which is originally a waste product from the Icelandic fishing industry. Our inside reinforcement consists of 50% recycled polyester from plastic bottles. In the insole, you'll find a soft PU foam underlay that is both lightweight and shock-absorbing, covered with the characteristic WODEN cork for breathability. Our outsoles consist of a minimum of 10% recycled rubber. Read more about our sustainable shoes.
The name WODEN stands for Works of Denmark. We are proud of our Scandinavian origins and responsible approach. That's why we create durable, quality sneakers based on the keywords: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. We work with this approach every day and always strive to improve. In this way, we rethink our choice of materials and production methods so that we can contribute to a greener footprint.
FISH LEATHER
The fish leather we use on all WODEN and WODEN KIDS sneakers is a waste product from the Icelandic fishing and food industry. An industry where only 1% of the skin itself is used and the rest is destroyed. The fish leather, which is primarily derived from salmon, is both hard-wearing and durable. This is due to its special cross-fiber structure, which makes fish leather up to 10 times stronger than calf leather. The fish leather is gently treated and tanned in Iceland. This is done using Iceland's natural heat sources. Therefore, there are 0% CO2 emissions from the tanning process for the benefit of our environment.
FIFTY
WODEN's sneaker's inside reinforcement consists of 50% recycled polyester from plastic bottles. We call it FIFTY. By using everyday-waste to create new textiles for our sneakers, we minimize the use of crude oil to produce new fibres. This also means that our textile production requires less energy. The FIFTY inside reinforcement is found in all sneakers across our collections.
CORK
All our insoles are covered with the characteristic WODEN cork. The cork we use is harvested in Argentina and Portugal. The bark of a cork tree can be carefully harvested every ten years. As the cork trees are not cut down, the bark can be harvested for hundreds of years. When cork trees start to form new bark, they convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. This contributes to a positive reduction in global CO2 levels. All insoles in WODEN and WODEN KIDS shoes are covered with cork.
RECYCLED RUBBER
All outsoles on WODEN and WODEN KIDS sneakers are made from a minimum of 10% recycled rubber. It has taken us many years of development to find the right combination of rubber that still meets our strict requirements for quality and durability. Today, our outsoles consist of a combination of minimum 10% recycled rubber mixed with 25% conventionally produced rubber and 65% natural rubber.