Packaging
Products are shipped in simple recycled cardboard shoe boxes, avoiding virgin plastics and unnecessary fillers. Beyond the use of recycled paper-based materials, Saola provides little public detail on further packaging innovations. There is no evidence of compostable materials, reusability programs, or third-party packaging certifications in use.
Ingredient Sustainability
The brand’s shoes incorporate a high proportion of recycled and bio-based inputs across all components. The knit uppers of every style are woven from Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified PET thread spun out of plastic bottles. This diverts plastic waste from landfills and mimics the look and feel of traditional textiles without new petroleum inputs. Saola also replaces significant amounts of synthetic foam with BLOOM™ algae foam in its insoles (and some outsoles), harvesting invasive algae from polluted waters and blending it with EVA. Certain models use partially recycled EVA rubber, and others (like the Alta Vibram sneaker-boot) feature Vibram Ecostep soles made with 90% recycled rubber.
These efforts substantially lower the shoes’ resource footprint (reducing virgin plastics, leather, or other resource-intensive materials) and exemplify circular design, since industrial waste (algae, plastic bottles, rubber scraps) is given a second life in new footwear. The only caveats are that a minority of materials are still conventional (e.g. remaining percentage of EVA foam and synthetic rubber that isn’t recycled) to meet performance needs, and end-of-life recyclability of the multi-material shoes is not addressed.
Energy Use and Footprint
The company publicly discloses that the carbon footprint per pair of its shoes averages around 3.5 kg CO₂, a relatively low figure for footwear. This low footprint is largely attributed to Saola’s emphasis on materials and processes that curb energy use. Notably, all Saola shoe uppers are colored using dope dyeing (solution dyeing) technology, which infuses pigment into the yarn before it’s woven. According to Saola, this technique uses 55–65% less energy, 85–95% less water, and produces 60–70% less CO₂ than traditional fabric dyeing.
However, there are areas for further growth. The brand has not announced a shift to renewable energy in its factories or offices, nor a move to carbon neutrality via offsets.
Waste Management
The brand mitigates waste at the source by using materials that are themselves recycled or diverted from waste streams. Every pair of Saola shoes contains waste-derived inputs. The brand also reduces manufacturing waste through its construction techniques. All knit uppers are produced with 3D knitting (knit-to-size), meaning the fabric is engineered with minimal off-cuts and trimming scrap.
Despite these solid efforts, Saola has not yet adopted circular economy initiatives at the product’s end-of-life. There is no shoe take-back or recycling program for worn-out Saolas, nor modular designs that allow easy repair or replacement of components.
Business Model
Saola’s business model is relatively sustainability-oriented, emphasizing quality, timeless designs over fast-paced churn. As a smaller footwear label, Saola does not follow the traditional fashion calendar of endless seasonal releases or trend-driven obsolescence. In fact, Saola tends to maintain a lean collection of evergreen styles, updating them infrequently.
