Sebago

Sebago mentions that their products are handmade with care, however provides no details regarding the production facilities, locations, or conditions. 

The brand provides details for their shoe materials, which are all made mainly of leather. It is also mentioned that the soles are made of rubber, which is generally a natural material, unless they use synthetic rubber. They also have clothing and accessories sections, for which none of the materials are stated. They also do not provide any information regarding finishing chemicals, packaging material or transportation methods.

Recycling of shoes is not quite an easy task as this has not been explored enough yet. However, leather being a long-lasting and durable material, they can certainly be repaired or upcycled in some way to be kept in use. The brand itself does not provide any assistance or advice regarding this, however your local cobbler may help. We do not have any information regarding the clothing lines of this brand, hence cannot comment on their circularity. The brand itself does not seem to have a circular business model. 

The brand is headquartered in the US, but we have no information of their facilities of sourcing, hence we are unable to determine the length of the supply chain. We also do not know their transportation methods, which makes a huge difference in CO2 emissions regardless of the chain length. 

Leather being the main component of this brand’s materials, we have a severe lack of information regarding the ethical sourcing of the material. We can only hope that all the leather is a by-product from the food industry. We also do not know if they use any other animal derived materials. 

This brand’s shoes are vintage and timeless, their popularity remaining consistent through decades. They are also durable and used by many sailors due to their sturdy rubber soles. They are also handmade, contributing to preserving the heritage of handmade shoemaking.

Sebago’s shoes are made to last and require extensive care. They provide a maintenance guide, including details of what products to be used for maintenance, however, do not provide these products for sale directly through the brand. They also recommend professional care and repair in extreme cases, but professional shoe care, especially for leather in the US, is not a very affordable affair.

This brand is sorely lacking on transparency in every aspect. We hope they improve on this, so we can give a better reflection of their sustainability aligned activities, as that is impossible to do with the information we have now.