German Brand Upcycles Olive Leaves into Vegan Leather Shoes

German footwear brand thies recently launched a line of sustainable vegan shoes made from “olive leather”—which is created from olive leaves left over from the fruit’s harvest. The collection features vegetable-tanned casual shoes for women, men, and children in colors such as pale yellow, mint green, pink, blue, and gray. The olive leather is created using a patented wet-green method for producing ultra-fine leather materials. The key ingredient comes from the substance on olive leaves that wards off predators, which is recovered using a method similar to brewing tea. Thies children shoes are made entirely of olive leather while adult sneakers feature a rubber outsole and vegetable-tanned, chrome-free lining. Theis joins a number of other companies that are creating environmentally-friendly vegan shoes. Last month, ethical brand nat-2 debuted a vegan sneaker made from repurposed coffee grounds. Equally inspiring, Canadian vegan brand Native Shoes recently launched an initiative to repurpose materials from its old shoes into playground flooring.