Keen Field to Foot sneaker features agricultural waste

US footwear brand Keen has debuted its proprietary manufacturing method, which uses agricultural waste to create the industry’s first sneakers featuring plant-based soles made without chemical solvents.

KEEN’s Advanced Concepts Team created these “Field to Foot” (F2F) footwear as part of its Detox The Planet Initiative. The Eldon sneaker for men and the Elsa V sneaker for women is available as a limited edition on Keen’s website. The collection also introduces Keen’s ‘unbox’ packaging, which utilizes 63% less cardboard than a regular shoebox and is 100% biodegradable.

Steve Workman, senior director, global product innovations, said that Keen is delivering measurable solutions to creating footwear that is less harmful to the environment with F2F Technology. The most significant environmental technology launch in Keen’s history is F2F, which uses sophisticated polyurethane sustainable technologies. This collection, the pilot of KEEN’s ‘un-box’, is a significant step toward establishing a new industry standard for sustainable footwear. They’re convinced that people will think this sentence is comprehensible, given that 77% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of the things they buy.

F2F Tech is the result of Keen’s unwavering commitment to designing footwear that not only inspires people to be outside but also reduces the negative impact on the environment. Since 2007, Keen has been exploring and developing footwear using recovered waste materials. F2F Technology took two years to create, with Huntsman Polyurethane, a world-renowned innovation business, collaborating on the research and testing of the plant-based components in the shoes.

Steve Burge, a UK-based polyurethane expert who collaborated with KEEN on the development of this technology, said that using agricultural waste in polyurethane is an essential step toward reforming the footwear industry supply chain. F2F Technology not only recycles agricultural waste but also reduces the usage of petrochemicals and eliminates the need for chemical solvents. These sneakers have a 51% agricultural waste outsole. And this is only the beginning.

Workman added that while the science and technology underlying these shoes are serious, the product itself is lighthearted and comfortable. The Field to Food line is both timeless and forward-thinking, evoking old favorites while leaving a smaller environmental footprint. It reaffirms their commitment to environmental detoxification while proving that cutting-edge technology can be enjoyable and relaxing.