Komrads

Pro­duc­tion locations

• Komrads head office: Belgium
• Production: Portugal
• Origin materials: Portugal, Spain, Italy 

Working conditions & liveable wages

The Komrads website states, ​‘Our trainers are made in Portugal. Therefore, we can guarantee that they are made under strict European working conditions. This means no sweatshops, no child labour, no miserable wages and endless working hours or unacceptable health and safety conditions.’

Komrads thus consciously chooses to work with European manufacturers and partners. Production is spread across Portugal, Spain and Italy. 

The brand also works with Belgian partner Nektari for order processing, shipping and packaging. Nektari is a social customisation company that provides employment opportunities for vulnerable people in the labour market.

Materialen

The brand is proud of it: the Komrads trainers and shoes are made entirely from reused and recycled materials. The soles are made of recycled rubber, coloured with natural dyes, according to the brand. 

The APLS collection consists of shoes made of vegan apple leather. This material is produced in Italy and consists of 50% recycled apple fibre, combined with 5 – 10 % polyurethane and 35 – 40 % synthetic resin. The apple fibres come from waste from the Italian apple juice industry. Unfortunately, vegan leather made from apples is not strong enough on its own. Therefore, it is mixed with synthetic material, such as the polyurethane and synthetic resin as a binder. This makes the material non-biodegradable and much more difficult to recycle. Read more about the sustainability of vegan leather here.

There is also the ICNS collection. These trainers are made from a combination of post-industrial recycled cotton and recycled PET bottles (polyester). The outer lining is 100% recycled cotton, while the lining is a blend of the two. 

Finally, Komrads also launched the OCNS collection. The brand collaborated with SEAQUAL® to produce trainers made from ocean waste. According to the SEAQUAL® website, the yarn consists of about 10% post-consumer recycled polyester fished from oceans, combined with 90% post-consumer recycled polyester collected on land (e.g. from beach clean-ups).

Packaging

According to the brand, the shoe boxes are made of recycled cardboard. In doing so, Komrads also says they reuse larger boxes for shipments within the supply chain as much as possible.

Waterusage & chemicals

COSH! was allowed to take a look at the 2023 sustainability report, which reveals that the brand is taking several initiatives and measures to reduce water and chemical consumption. 

Komrads’ website states that the brand uses 93% less water, compared to the production of a leather trainer (made from cowhide). 

This sounds impressive, but such calculations can quickly be questioned. This namely a general comparison with an ​‘average leather trainer product’, where each step in the production process can already have a big impact. 

Cir­cu­lar productdesign

At first glance, Komrads seems to be very much circular, with their emphasis on using recycled materials. Indeed, the vast majority of the materials consist of recycled raw materials, such as the recycled apple scraps, cotton, rubber and polyester.

Yet these materials also present a challenge: the mixed materials in the apple leather, for example, complicate the recycling process of the shoe when it wears out. Trainers are always a complex product, different materials are stitched and glued together, making it very difficult to recycle them.

Cir­cu­lar businessmodels

Komrads therefore launched the SMOS slippers: when your Komrads shoe is not wearable (and cannot be repaired), you can send it to the brand. Through their ReBirth programme, Komrads collects these shoes to then grind them up and make them into the SMOS slippers. The brand even claims that these slippers can also be recycled again after use!

There is no information (yet) on the success of the ReBirth programme, or on the quality & durability of these slippers.

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

• Production location: Portugal
• Origin of materials: Portugal, Spain, Italy
• Komrads location: Belgium
• Komrads ships worldwide, with a focus within Europe

The brand indicates that the materials come from the manufacturer’s environment. All manufacturers are located in Europe. This leads to a shorter supply chain, which keeps transport distances and with it greenhouse gas emissions low. COSH! was able to trace the supply chain almost completely thanks to the information shared by Komrads. Only the origin of raw materials is unknown.

Komrads has the Ik Koop Belgisch label. This shows that the creative design process takes place entirely in Belgium. 

Trans­portation

The brand shared that all transport is done by trucks. In doing so, they also work with a logistics partner that makes efforts to bundle shipments as much as possible to reduce transport emissions.

Komrads trainers are completely vegan. This has been certified by PETA! (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

This does not take into account the possible contamination of microplastics and its impact on marine ecosystems, as this impact is so far impossible to map for a specific product or brand.

Pro­duct­de­sign

Komrads shoes and trainers do not follow changing trends. The designs and colour combinations are timeless and modern. This gives a sporty, neutral shoe that you can match with any outfit. Komrads wants to create shoes that suit every outfit and occasion, so you can wear them for longer. In addition, all designs are also gender-neutral, so everyone can look good in them!

Slow fas­hi­on processes

Komrad’s collections remain constant, with a new version being added sporadically. The brand focuses mainly on researching recycled and vegan materials, so the design phase of a new collection can sometimes take several years. After this extensive research and testing phase, Komrads is always confident in the quality of their products.

Transparency on product

On the product pages, the brand always indicates where the product is produced (Portugal). In doing so, the website also provides consumers with general information about each of the materials.

Transparency on processes

Komrads shared a lot of information with COSH! about their supply chains, but unfortunately does not make this public. The website only lists production countries, no data on the production partners themselves. Komrads thus protects itself from (unfair) competition.