Sustainable Footwear Project
This project was for a materials class; the goal was to make a footwear design using 70% sustainable materials.
A Shoe for the Great Lakes
I chose to make a shoe that would help the Great Lakes. I am from Wisconsin, and I have lived almost my entire life a two-minute walk from Lake Michigan, so the Great Lakes are really important to me. To help the Great Lakes I wanted to use invasive species in Lake Michigan as my shoe base materials.
Material Selection
Zebra mussels and Asian carp are extremely invasive to the Great Lakes, and they are on track to permanently damage Lake Michigan's ecosystem. They have no current uses as zebra mussels are very small and Asian carp taste extremely bad. To use these materials in the shoe would mean to remove them from the ecosystem and to make their presence in the Great Lakes more known.
Type of Shoe/Brand DNA
As for the type of shoe, I wanted to take inspiration from a well-established brand and take notes on their brand DNA. I choose Birkenstock as they are a well-known sandal brand that works hard on the sustainability of their products.
Concept Sketching
These are some of the sketch pages that follow the brand DNA of the traditional Birkenstock. I took the slide foundation and wanted to visually represent the concept of the Great Lakes through water theming.
Product Moodboard
Product Renders
Sustainability Mission
The goal of this shoe is to not be able to sell them anymore. Once the materials are gone and the shoe cannot be made anymore it means that the threat in the Great Lakes has been eradicated. These shoes are a symbol, and when a person wears them they are making a statement that they are personally helping with Great Lake conservation.
.png)
.png)
