Primal Soles

Production locations

• Portugal

Primal Soles crafts its footwear exclusively in the north of Portugal, leveraging the region’s deep-rooted expertise in shoe manufacturing. 

Working Conditions & living wages

The entire production cycle—from sourcing and handcrafting to recycling — is locally based, adhering to strict EU regulations, ensuring that all processes are ethical and contribute positively to the local economy. The brand’s commitment to regional craftsmanship and ethical practices in Portugal stands out, emphasizing a community-focused approach to conscious footwear production.

Materials 

• Cork
• Recycled cork
• Upcycled anti-bacterial memory foam
• Recycled foam

Packaging

The brand also employs FSC-certified (verified by COSH!) cardboard boxes for packaging, emphasizing their commitment to sustainable practices. 

Water usage & chemicals

Their products are certified to have CO2-negative impact (verified by COSH!), by Carbon Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment studies. Primal Soles also conducts other positive environmental practices, such as participating in 1% for the Planet, where 1% of all their profits are donated to environmental causes. They have also committed to reforesting 1,000 hectares of Portuguese cork oak forest to bolster biodiversity and combat forest decline.

Circular product design 

The brand embraces a circular approach with their footwear designed to be 100% recyclable under EU regulations. Primal Soles’ footwear incorporates a three-layer design with natural cork, upcycled anti-bacterial memory foam, and recycled cork and foam, ensuring an eco-conscious and functional product. Cork, used extensively, is a regenerative material harvested without harming the cork oak, contributing positively to ecological balance, climate resilience, and biodiversity.

Winning an award for the most innovative product of the year, they’re now exploring B2B partnerships and scaling up with new materials like cork-rubber mixtures, all the while ensuring that products remain CO2 negative and circular. 

Circular business models

They have established a recycling portal allowing customers to return used insoles, ensuring they are upcycled into new products. While the hotel slippers are single-use, their system encourages hotels to participate in sustainable practices by returning used slippers for upcycling, creating a collaborative circular model. This closed-loop system is conducted by their production factory in Portugal, where they grind used soles to create new ones, minimizing waste. 

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

• Head office: Amsterdam
• Production: Portugal
• Sourcing raw materials: Portugal
• Final stages: Portugal
• Export: worldwide

Primal Soles operates its head office in Amsterdam, but all aspects of their production, from sourcing raw materials to final stages, are concentrated in Portugal. This centralization streamlines their supply chain, reducing the transportation footprint. This setup highlights their commitment to maintaining a short and efficient supply chain.

Transportation

E‑commerce: 

• Carbon-neutral shipping on all orders. The company does this by calculating every delivery’s carbon footprint based on weight, shipping method, and distance travelled. They neutralise these emissions by purchasing verified carbon removal credits. 
• When customers add a contribution to their order, 100% of that money is used to pay for additional carbon removal.
• The brand works with a network of pioneering removal companies that have been vetted by the commerce platform Shopify.

The brand does not use any animal derived products, and hence can be considered a ​“Vegan” brand.

Product design

Inspired by travel, Primal Soles is innovating within the footwear industry, starting with insoles, and recently introducing hotel slippers to shift away from traditional high-turnover models dominated by imports. 

Primal Soles provides precise measurements and sizing instructions to aid consumer choices and reduce returns, enhancing the quality and longevity of their products.

Slow fashion processes

Their subscription model encourages sustainable consumption through insole replacements and recycling. 
 

Transparency on product

This brand makes high efforts to be transparent with the consumer regarding all their materials and processes. 

Transparency on processes

Primal Soles emphasizes its commitment to transparency by ensuring compliance with international environmental standards, publishing all certifications and details on their website. While some details still need to be verified, these actions demonstrate their dedication to responsible environmental practices and their effort to clearly communicate this commitment to avoid greenwashing.