European Eco-Trend of the Week: Zanacco Shoes

The Angelo in "frond" by Zanacco. Image from Zanacco.com

Zanacco goes out of their way to live up to the high fashion demands of simply being an Italian men’s shoe company, and they do it all with green technology using vegetable-tanned leathers and water-based glues.

Italy has long been one of the best places in the world for making leather shoes, but that doesn’t mean all shoes made in Italy are designed there. Many companies that make shoes from around the world have their products assembled in Italy for the high quality of the craftsmanship.

But Zanacco sticks to their Italian roots. The family has been designing and making shoes for generations in Vigevano Italy. Each pair of shoes is hand-crafted by master cobblers who use old-school techniques that have stood the test of time, incorporating green technology to reduce their impact on the local environment. They use water-based glues, vegetable-tanned leathers, biodegradable oils, insoles made with coco-fiber, and wooden nails.

They do use leathers in their shoes, but the animals aren’t slaughtered for their skins alone. Most of Zanacco’s hides are by-products of the food industry. (While new green technology shoes are being refined every year, it’s still tough to beat the durability and suppleness of real leather.) And get this: the salts used to maintain the hides are recycled as street salts in winter!

Vegetable tanning is a common practice for making green shoes, but Zanacco’s process has been passed from father to son for over 200 years. They use natural tannins from chestnut and quebracho (an Argentinian plant), green technology that’s more eco-friendly than harsh chemicals. The process takes 40 days, but the resulting supple leather and brilliant colors are worth the wait. It’s also easier to recycle than chemically tanned leather shoes.

[nggallery id=20]

Related articles

• European Eco-Trend of the Week: Paris Without Fur(usgreentechnology.com)

  ---

• European Eco-Trend of the Week: Traceable Clothing by IOU Project(usgreentechnology.com)

  ---

• European Eco-Trend of the Week: Nature Art Jewelry by Ceca Georgieva(usgreentechnology.com)

  ---