German store Afew launches first own sustainable sneaker

German sneaker store Afew, has developed its own sustainable sneaker after successful partnerships with labels like Nike, Adidas, AsicsTiger, Diadora, and KangaROOS in recent years.

The development of the Yamasura ‘Soil’ took three years and eleven trial runs since Afew did not utilize an existing model as a template and instead created the shoe from scratch.

In a press release, Afew said that their goal was to design the ideal running shoe with the 80s and 90s aesthetic. The Yamasura ‘Soil’ colorway represents the foundation they built for Afew Goods with their sneaker. The Ferrari Testarossa served as inspiration for the midsole design. They used their Afew Goods logo as design inspiration for the two-tone outsole.

The Yamasura “Soil” sole is composed of the Bloom algae material “Bloom Algae EVA.” Each sole can clean 16 liters of water and 10 cubic meters of air when combined with regular EVA.

Afew did not make the decision to build the shoe lightly, either: the business met with 15 potential manufacturers before settling on Tofel in Portugal.

Afew said that they utilized a blend of synthetic (vegan) suede, nubuck leather, and mesh for the original ‘Soil’ colorway. The Bloom Algae EVA midsole is paired with a recycled PU insole. Almost the majority of the textiles are sourced from Europe.

The first few pairs of the new “Soil” went on sale on Saturday for 210 euros (about 180 British Pounds/249 US Dollars) and have already sold out.