Page 22 - OK! Magazine - Australia (February 2020)

ADVERTORIAL

ECO

WARRIOR

ECCO Leather’s ambitious

journey to eliminate water

from leather manufacturing

E CCO Leather’s design philosophy may put

function before form, but that doesn’t make the
shoes and accessories that are crafted from its
leather any less stylish. In fact, the brand’s focus
on sustainability and wearability is part of what
makes these accessories so covetable.
ECCO Leather tans more than one million hides per year
to supply thousands of international brands. Last year, the
manufacturer took its first step towards waterfree leather
manufacturing, unveiling a commemorative edition of its
classic Soft 8 sneaker that had been made with the company’s
new DriTan technology. This game-changing tech comes
in at a key part of the leather tanning process to utilise the
moisture that already exists in the hides, with a result that is
indistinguishable from traditionally tanned leather.
“DriTan is just the first step in our ambitious scheme to
make the entire leather manufacturing process waterfree,”
says Thomas Gøgsig, head of applied research at ECCO. “Our
starting point came down to one fundamental question: how
can we tan in a world of increasing water scarcity?”
The history of tanning goes back 10,000 years,
and it was thought to be impossible without
the use of water. Now, DriTan saves huge
amounts of it: 20 litres per hide, which is equal
to 25 million litres of water saved annually,
which is enough to keep more than 9000 people
hydrated for one year.
DriTan is the result of five years of research
and development, plus a “strong cocktail of
science, know-how and traditional craft”,
says Gøgsig. “You don’t need to invest in new
equipment; you don’t have to look for new
chemicals. You just use what is already available,
only in a different way. Tanning is a very old and
traditional industry, so people tend to forget to
ask whether it can be done differently.”
Form, function and sustainability practices?
Now that’s a design philosophy to get behind.
DriTan sneaker available in Australia early 2020;
au.ecco.com.

Clockwise from top left: a selection of
dyed leathers; the classic Soft 8
sneaker; ‘Ella’ bag made from ECCO
leather suede, $229.95; leather
production in ECCO’s owned tanneries;
the classic Soft 8 sneaker remade with
DriTan; shoe manufacturing.