Fully Biodegradable Shoe from SCARPA Wins Innovation Honor

The SCARPA Mojito Bio, the first 100-percent biodegradable shoe with a performance rubber sole, was recognized as an industry winner in the third-annual Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards, which recognizes the outdoor industry’s most innovative product releases each season.

The Mojito Bio is a derivation of SCARPA’s top selling shoe, the Mojito. This iteration will be available starting in Spring 2021 and will retail for $179. . It earned third-party certification for its biodegradability from Intertrek. At the end of its life, 85 percent of the shoe will decompose after 450 days in a landfill. Shoes made with conventional materials, by contrast, take 40 to 50 years to decompose, and the midsole of many running shoes can last up to 1,000 years in landfill conditions.

Mojito Bio shoes use a special, biodegradable EVA midsole, while the outside uses an innovative biodegradable rubber blend, which is a first to market. The uppers are made from bio knit fabric, a breathable material made from biodegradable fibers. The lining is natural cotton, and all other components also are biodegradable, and the construction uses water-based, non-polluting adhesives.

Winners of the Innovation Awards are chosen based on spark, desire, function and impact. These four criteria help determine the products that set themselves apart from the rest and make a significant cultural and environmental impact that offers an example for the rest of the industry.