A Fresh Pace to Reduce CO2 in the Footwear Industry: UNDO Laces

A new eco-friendly brand from Turkey has taken steps towards decreasing the ecological footprint of the footwear industry with an innovative product: UNDO Laces

News provided by

Marjinal Porte Novelli

May 05, 2015, 02:40 ET

ISTANBUL, May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

In recent years, scientists have conducted extensive research on the environmentally hazardous nature of footwear industry and found that a typical shoe, one of the most environmentally detrimental items we wear, has a carbon footprint of 30 pounds of CO2. According to a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this amount, resulted mainly from the production of one pair of sneakers, may produce equivalent amount of CO2 emissions to keep on a 100-watt light bulb for a whole week.

"Close the loop, undo the damage". This is the motto of the new Turkish brand "UNDO". And UNDO Laces is UNDO Labâeuro(TM)s first product to tackle the carbon footprint generated by the shoe industry. Designed in Turkey's industrial capital, Istanbul, the smart shoelaces will make its debut at New York Design Week on May 15, 2015. (PRNewsFoto/Marjinal Porter Novelli)

After making its official commercial launch at New York Design Week on May 15, 2015, 10 thousand UNDO Laces, with a variety of six different colors, will be placed on the U.S. market to be sold for 15$ primarily in fashion clothing boutiques of NYC. (PRNewsFoto/Marjinal Porter Novelli)

UNDO is a brand of AtÃ¶lye Labs, an Istanbul-based design studio founded by Sina Afra and two Stanford Design School Turkish alumni, Can Ã-zinci and Kerem Alper. The brand intends to reconfigure our environmental relationship with man-made products in an effort to promote a sustainable society through environmentally conscious production methods. (PRNewsFoto/Marjinal Porter Novelli)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150505/743396-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150505/743396-b )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150505/743396-c )

"That's why we came up with UNDO Laces," says Can Özinci, Co-Founder of UNDO Labs. "Through sustainable product design and manufacturing, we aim to scale down high carbon impact and undo the actual environmental damage resulted specifically from the manufacturing processes of such products as shoe laces. And UNDO Laces is the first product that represents this vision: You buy a pair of UNDO shoelaces at http://www.undolabs.com and UNDO Labs offsets the carbon footprint of your shoe. It is simple, and effective."

"Supported with magnetic tips on both ends, UNDO Laces are also a visual and functional manifestation of 'closing the loop'," says Kerem Alper, from Atölye Labs which is shareholder at UNDO Labs. "It's a system that doesn't rely on matter exchange with parties outside the system, therefore, it is entirely sustainable and self-sufficient. The 'tria' look with the third loop represents the life-style we're attempting to promote. The smart design also clears off the biggest pain point about replacing a shoelace: With our patent-pending mechanism, you only take your old UNDO Laces off, the new one is automatically in."

One of the leading entrepreneurs in Turkey, Sina Afra, is also the co-founder of UNDO Labs, adds another motive to the new product: "Turkey is a very important shoelace manufacturer. But until today, none has ever made a serious attempt to realize its potential. No other local-global brand has ever focused purely on shoelaces either. So we took it as an opportunity to go ahead and innovatively brand Turkey's shoelace manufacturing potential. We hope that it would soon lead to valuable contributions in eco-design and eco-manufacturing, both on an academic and commercial basis, as well as in the growth of green economy."

For more information: http://www.undolabs.com

Nevra Çankaya, Marjinal Porter Novelli, [email protected]
Telephone: +90-533-927-37-10 & +90-212-219-29-71

SOURCE Marjinal Porte Novelli