LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than 24 billion pairs of shoes are manufactured annually, producing 9 million tons of waste materials. Friday, April 22, from 3-5p.m. at the headquarters of COMUNITYmade, 584 Mateo Street, Los Angeles, footwear industry and sustainability thought leaders will discuss the drastic shifts that need to happen to make the footwear industry more sustainable.
Panelists will include:
- Sean Scott, Co-Founder & CEO at COMUNITYmade
- Stuart Jenkins, Co-Founder & CEO at Blumaka
- Joshua Katz, Chief Executive Officer at KX Inc.
- Todd Copeland, Principal, Copeland Consultancy
The moderated discussion will focus on manufacturing practices, material choices, options for re-using materials until the complete end of their life cycle, and footwear industry standards that can be established to measure progress toward sustainability.
“Manufacturing locally, choosing the right materials, adopting more thoughtful practices in production, this is only the beginning,” says Stuart Jenkins, Co-Founder of Blumaka. Blumaka creates high-performance footwear with its patented CLEANFOAM™, made with up to 90% recycled ETPU foam—using 99.9% less water than traditional manufacturing methods. “It is time we see major shifts in the footwear industry. Cleaner standards must be set, and practices must evolve. We’re here to help forge a cleaner future for athletic footwear.”
COMUNITYmade has established itself as both a business and gathering space in the LA Arts District, handcrafting premium shoes one pair-at-a-time at its headquarters, using thoughtfully curated sustainable materials, including insoles from Blumaka.
“The future of clean footwear is inevitable. Producing footwear closer to where the customers are lessens waste, reduces the carbon footprint and creates a closer connection to the customers by offering customized versions of the product,” says Sean Scott, Co-Founder of COMUNITYmade. “We are looking at every single component of our shoes to find the most innovative solutions for materials and manufacturing.”
The event is open to business leaders and the public. Registration is free and can be accessed at https://bit.ly/cleanfootwearsummitregistration.