Balena launches 100% biodegradable shoes
Balena (Tel Aviv, Israel), a materials science company working to transform the fashion industry, recently announced the launch of its eco-chic BioCir slides, made from its proprietary 100% biodegradable plastic - designed to help fashion End the industry from disposing of unsustainable amounts of plastic waste and initiate the use of biodegradable plastics in shoes and other clothing.
Balena's BioCir™ is the first fully moldable, biodegradable elastomer, offering a viable alternative to the polluting plastic materials fashion brands currently use for apparel and footwear. To demonstrate the exciting potential of this unique technology, Balena has unveiled fully compostable slides for men and women, designed and manufactured in Italy entirely from BioCir, with the first batch of 1,000 pairs launched in the company's hometown of Tel Aviv.
These BioCir slides – colored and scented using natural cinnamon – are already being worn by style and comfort lovers across the city, putting their feet first on the path to a greener future. As part of its debut, Balena also launched a fully cyclic system - BioCycling ™ - which facilitates the handling and complete biodegradation of its BioCir slides in an industrial composting environment. When customers are done using the slides, instead of throwing them in the trash en route to the landfill, customers can return them to designated recycling points throughout the city, where they can be collected for composting at local industries Completely biodegradable in the facility, this model of reducing fashion's contribution to plastic waste could be replicated around the world.
The world's addiction to fast fashion has resulted in a staggering amount of clothing and footwear waste being generated each year - an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste is generated globally each year, yet only 12% of materials used in clothing are recycled. Balena's mission is to change that by creating a fully circular model that relies on the power of composting to reduce fashion's global environmental impact. Balena's proprietary BioCir 100% compostable plastic is durable, flexible, supple and smooth, making it the perfect replacement for current polluting shoe materials, while allowing brands to develop footwear that looks and feels identical to current products.
This biodegradable material can be handled like any other and used in conventional injection molding processes and 3D printing, which offer limitless manufacturing opportunities. It can be easily integrated into regular manufacturing processes and replicated at scale globally, lowering a significant barrier to market entry for manufacturers. Balena's groundbreaking slide is the ultimate proof-of-concept, demonstrating the durability, practicality and comfort of BioCirTM. "The global fashion industry is one of the largest polluters in the world.
At Balena, our goal is to help turn this around,” says Balena Founder and CEO David Roubach. “We’re doing this by creating our own viable alternative to biodegradable plastics and a fully circular system, These systems can be easily extended, copied and pasted globally. We want our BioCir footwear to show the world that there is a real alternative: fashion can be stylish, functional and eco-friendly. We are proud to be a company that opens the door for any fashion brand to start stepping into a more circular future."
