Nat-2 has made shoes out of some pretty interesting materials: repurposed coffee grounds, mushrooms, corn, beans, roses, glass, cannabis leaves, and even real animal blood. (Yeah, those weren’t vegan.) But its latest kicks take the cake. The German shoe brand just launched a pair of bubble wrap sneakers. And do we want a pair? Yes.
The Nat-2 Sleek Low bubble wrap sneakers feature material from innovative start-up Remeant. The bubble wrap-based leather is 100 percent vegan and features a unique variety of colors, shades, and textures.
Remeant creates textiles from upcycled plastic taken from landfills and oceans, including bubble wrap. The shoe heels feature a smooth reflective glass surface. They also have a removable cork insole.
The bubble wrap sneakers are part of Nat-2’s Reduce Reuse Recycle line.
Also part of the collection is the vegan Nat-2 Mover Low, which is made from re-recycled carpet, and the Nat-2 Cord vegan sneakers. The latter, which resemble Converse high tops, are made from corduroy textile. Both shoes feature a recycled outsole and the recycled removable cork insole.
Nat-2: Sustainable Sneakers
Nat-2’s bubble wrap sneakers are helping to tackle the issue of plastic waste.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, approximately one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. Five trillion single-use plastic bags are used around the world each year. Every year, about 300 million tonnes of plastic are wasted globally.
Nat-2 was founded in 2007 in Munich by Sebastian Thies, a 6th generation shoemaker, with a mission to craft sustainable shoes. The company is constantly in search of innovative materials and techniques for its eco-friendly sneakers.
The company carries a wide variety of vegan shoes. In 2019, it launched vegan sneakers made from hayfield grass and recycled plastic bottles. Grass and flowers also cover 50 percent of the shoes’ surface.
For the brew aficionado, Nat-2 released vegan sneakers made from repurposed coffee grounds in 2018. (The shoes even sport a natural coffee scent.) The same year, the brand launched plant-based kicks made from mushroom leather and recycled plastic water bottles.
