RE:SUEDE is a special version of the iconic Suede sneaker, created using Zeology Suede, Hemp padding, sockliner filler and lace, Hemp / Cotton lining and sockliner and TPE Outsole. Once the shoes are worn out, they can be returned to PUMA free of charge, after which PUMA and our industrial composting partner will ensure that the shoes are broken down into soil.

When we first introduced our 10FOR25 sustainability targets, we made circularity one of our focus areas. We quickly realized that developing the future of circularity at PUMA would require many different departments to work together, which is why in 2021 we started “Circular Lab”, an innovation hub, which is led by our innovation and design experts. The first project to come out of “Circular Lab” was RE:SUEDE, a trial for a shoe that can turn into compost. Find all the details in this handbook (https://about.puma.com/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/resuede-puma-handbook.pdf)

The RE:Suede sneakers are produced in Vietnam

No. The RE:SUEDE experiment is using materials that will decompose under controlled, industrial composting conditions. PUMA has partnered with Ortessa in an industry experiment, so that every step of the composting process can be carefully measured.

PUMA takes responsibility for helping create a better future for all. Circularity is one of PUMA's 10FOR25 sustainability targets. A step towards becoming more circular includes exploring circular solutions for our products.

In short, it’s an industrial composting process that takes place in a large tunnel, around 150m2. Organic waste is shredded and treated with bacteria, then left to biodegrade in the tunnel. Inside the tunnels, the temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels are carefully controlled to create the ideal conditions for bacteria to break down organic matter. The RE:SUEDEs can’t be processed using today’s standard industrial composting operating procedures, as it requires specific composting process and longer duration. The facility and general principle are however the same.

Once the shoes are broken down into the soil, the compost from the process measuring (<10mm) tested and certified as Grade A compost under the Netherland standard applicable to Ortessa will be sold on to Dutch farmers.

The shoes will be collected by a logistic partner absed in Italy, then transferred to Ortessa Composting Facility. Ortessa is specialized business that takes a different approach to waste: they see it as an opportunity to innovate. For RE:SUEDE, we are working specifically with Ortessa’s Valor Composting Facility, the first in the world to use tunnel composting to process organic waste. Each year, the Valor Composting Facility generates 47,000 tons of Grade A² compost from vegetable, garden and fruit waste. Ortessa is based in the Netherlands. During our initial RE:SUEDE experiment, we discovered that it is possible to turn the RE:SUEDE into Grade A compost under specific industrial conditions provided by Ortessa. Ortessa will apply a modified operating procedure that is optimized version for the break down of the RE:SUEDEs we will receive in the future.

No. The RE:SUEDEs are not certified compostable. However, through our partnership with Ortessa, we have proven through a special operating procedure that the shoes can break down into soil under their pre-tested conditions at their industrial composting facility. This soil can be classified as compost if it lives up to the strict requirements of the Netherland standard applicable to Ortessa.

Grade A compost (the highest certification from Keurcompost in the Netherlands) can be used in agriculture and horticulture. Find out more: https://keurcompost.nl/beoordelingsrichtlijn/

Please follow this *LINK* to go the return site. The return of RE:SUEDES is free of charge.

Consumers who return their worn RE:SUEDEs to PUMA will receive a 20% discount code to spend on puma.com for their next purchase. Selected articles might not be elegible for the promotion.

Not at the moment. PUMA is currently testing and evaluating colored options for the RE:Suede.

Yes. The version of the RE:SUEDE that available for purchase has an improved comfort from a new fit and an optimized distribution of the material in the sockliner.