SUSTAINABILITY
At NPS Solovair we are passionate about sustainability. We want to ensure that the needs of today do not have an impact on future generations.
With 90% of our manufacturing waste being recycled both within our business or externally, we are essentially almost there.
All components for our footwear are sourced from within Europe and where possible within the UK, helping to reduce our carbon footprint.
With the omission of Horween all our leather is sourced from Europe and all are from prestigious tanneries. No leather is wasted in the manufacturing of our footwear, in fact, all trimmings are recycled to create a by-product called leather board which can then be repurposed both within the company and externally to create additional leather based components for footwear or other industries.
NPS Shoes is conscious of the environment and is proactively looking into ecological recycled materials that will improve on our sustainability.
The ‘upper’ materials for our vegan range of footwear are made from a combination of recycled synthetic material and also plant based biodegradable matter. The materials we use are fully compliant to all European (REACH) standards, which are arguably the highest benchmark internationally.
All materials within our vegan range are free of any animal derived ingredients, including our adhesives which are ‘water-based’ with natural ingredients, such as latex.
All footwear at NPS Solovair utilises the Goodyear welted method. This process ensures that as long as the uppers are looked after, the soles can easily and cost-effectively be replaced, meaning that our shoes will last customers for many years.
Our renowned Solovair soles are fully recyclable and even the excess trimmings created during production are reused to create our Premium and Lifestyle soles.
Reducing plastic pollution is an integral part of every business and we are proud to say we have accomplished this with all our packaging including our distinctive shoe boxes which are made from recycled card and paper. Our mailing bags which are made from recycled materials are 100% recyclable and our tissue paper is free from toxic materials.
As a family owned business we pride ourselves on employing local craftspeople. We ensure all staff are paid a fair living wage and are all permanent employees. In fact, the majority of our staff have been in continuous employment for over 10 years with our longest serving employee currently in his fourth decade.
As we move into the future we will continue to work towards improving and streamlining our processes to become a more sustainable brand whilst continuing to maintain the high standards our customers have grown to know and love.