French luxury brand Chloé is set to launch its “lower impact” Nama sneaker, which originally debuted in its Spring 2022 Resort collection shown in June earlier this year. The new multi-colored silhouette is a product of the fashion house’s recent initiative to introduce more sustainable practices and to reduce its overall environmental impact under the direction of recently appointed creative director Gabriela Hearst.

The Nama is said to use 80% less water and emit 35% less greenhouse gases than its predecessor, the Sonnie sneaker. Chloé partnered with sustainability consulting group Quantis to conduct a screening life cycle assessment on the shoe, and the result was tangible data that traces the product’s raw material extraction, production, and more. The brand exclusively focused on utilizing lower-impact and recycled materials to achieve this.

Overall, the Nama is 39% lighter than the previous model with 40% of the sneaker’s weight compromised of recycled debris. The shoe features an upper comprised of knitted craft, webbing, mesh, and other materials giving a full class in texture and color. All webbings in the upper are made of 100% recycled nylon, recycled polyester, and recycled cotton. Yellow suedeskin is sourced from a Leather Working Group certified tannery while microsuede used throughout is 65% recycled. The knitting was done using 90% recycled polyester yarns, and the transparent mesh was created using fully recycled nylon. Heatpress panels use 40% recycled TPU, and the laces were created using fully recycled polyester.

The sneaker is lined with 70% recycled polyester and uses 80% recycled PU for internal foam. Similar to the upper’s suedeskin components, the footbed, which uses 30% recycled EVA, is lined with calfskin that is also sourced from a Leather Working Group certified tannery.

The French house aims to use less chemicals in the assembly of the shoe relying on water-based glue as opposed to a solvent-based adhesive for the soles. The biscotti beige welt combining the upper and the soles is made from 20% recycled TPE. Additionally, its midsole is made up of 20% recycled EVA and the outsole with 20% recycled rubber.

Since joining Chloé in December 2020, Hearst has made it a priority to evolve the brand’s sustainability efforts, an area that is important to her personally as well as for design and her namesake label. Objectives for 2025 have been outlined at the house including dedicated time and funds to gender equality initiatives, increasing fair-trade sourcing, and shifting collections to use 90% lower-impact materials. Hearst also actively collaborates with many NGOs on her collections for the luxury brand including Kenyan nonprofit Ocean Sole, which collects discarded flip-flops from the ocean.

“The truth is, we don’t have enough time. The way we take new natural resources from this planet is just impossible,” Hearst told British Vogue in August 2021. “We have to change; we don’t live in an endless cornucopia of natural materials. In order to preserve, we have to take less.”

Hearst’s Earth-friendly values are meant to change the company as a whole, not just the garments she creates under the label. In October 2021, Chloé has become the first European luxury house to become a B Corp. “It’s all about the mind-set of continuously challenging ourselves to improve, and to bring the full equation of financial, social and environmental value to the table in every decision we make,” Chloé CEO Riccardo Bellini told the WWD. “Eighty percent of solutions are really sitting on the design table — by the choice of how the product is done, by the choice of the material, and by the choice of social procurement. Gabriela has been an amazing sponsor and driver of such choices.”

The new Chloé Nama sneaker will release on December 8 in boutiques and online via chloe.com.

In other fashion news, London-based I AND ME launches first biodegradable collection with jeans and knit pieces.