WHAT:
Our natural rubber blend is crafted by mixing a blend of natural rubber, SBR (styrene-butadiene) rubber, and binding agents.
WHY:
Despite being labelled as "rubber", most outsoles are made completely from plastic. Instead, we opt to use a natural rubber blend wherever possible as it is a partially bio-based material derived from the sap of trees.
In order to make the natural rubber durable enough for footwear, synthetic ingredients are required to cure the rubber. We incorporate SBR into our rubber blend as it is highly resistant to abrasion, however, the production of SBR contributes to air pollution and it can take up to 20 years for this type of rubber to decompose.
We make a conscious effort to use the highest percentage of natural rubber that we can in our outsoles, and reduce the percentage of synthetic additives.
WHERE WE ARE HEADING:
Our ultimate objective is to use 100% biobased outsoles crafted from PLIANT™, a material innovation created by cutting-edge green chemistry platform NFW. Our shift to employing PLIANT™ in our outsoles is prompted by the unavailability of a 100% natural rubber outsole.
We began our launch of PLIANT™ into the range at the beginning of 2024 and will continue to roll out PLIANT™ across our women's wear range.
Our eventual goal is to implement PLIANT™ soles across all shoes at Bared, however, this takes time as we must adapt the material to our different styles.
USED IN:
Outsoles, Sanderlings and Wader.
