Gucci's Sneakers Got an Eco Makeover! Check Out the Latest Line

Written by

Kristine Nguyen

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Gucci just came out with a new sneaker line for luxury fashion fans to fawn over. And this time, it's eco-friendly.

With the push for eco-conscious changes from brands becoming more mainstream, many are looking for ways to make their popular items more planet-friendly. This week, Gucci released a brand-new collection of sneakers made from a leather alternative, making them one of the biggest names in fashion to start thinking more sustainably.

Gucci's new sneaker line is made from a leather alternative called Demetra—a material that's produced in Gucci's own factory in Italy. This new material is vegan and made of 77 percent raw plant-based materials, including wood pulp and viscose. It even utilizes the same tanning processes as its regular leather. The Demetra material is now the star of its latest sneaker line, which features three styles: The Basket, New Ace, and Rhyton.

"In our 100th anniversary year, Demetra is a new category of material that encapsulates Gucci's quality and aesthetic standards with our designer to innovate, leveraging our traditional skills and know-how to create for an evolving future," says Marco Bizzarri, Gucci's president and CEO, to Women’s Wear Daily. "Demetra offers our industry an easily scalable, alternative choice and a more sustainable material that also answers the needs of animal-free solutions."

This isn't the first time Gucci has tried making changes to be more sustainable. It was also the first luxury brand to utilize ECONYL regenerated nylon yarn for its products back in 2016. It also has "Gucci-Up,"—a program where it upcycles leather and textile offcuts that are produced during manufacturing. Gucci has even set up a target to eliminate single-use plastic in its packaging by 2030.

It's always exciting to see popular brands putting in the effort to be more sustainable. Especially because they're some of the biggest contributors to waste and climate change. Hopefully, more luxury brands will follow suit. Then, we can all look forward to a healthy planet and a stylish future.