Louis Vuitton unveils luxury sneakers made from corn-based plastic

Luxury designer Louis Vuitton has made its first foray into the sustainable fashion market
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The fashion house announced that its new Charlie sneakers will be corn-based and made from 90 percent recycled and bio-based materials, bringing Louis Vuitton's designs into the sustainability spotlight
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LV uses a new sustainable material called Biolpolioli - a corn-based plastic - that will debut in Louis Vuitton shoes
.

The company's Charlie sneakers will surpass all of its current options in terms of sustainability
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Corn-based shoes also have several successes in sustainable footwear
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The shoe's laces use 100% recycled fiber, and the sole contains 94% recycled rubber
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In addition to Biopolioli, Louis Vuitton also uses Econyl, a renewable nylon fabric, for the tongue patch
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Soon, consumers will be able to buy the brand's most eco-friendly sneaker, its first unisex design and packaged in recycled cardboard
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Louis Vuitton has faced criticism for delaying a fur ban, but the luxury fashion house has begun developing sustainable design and manufacturing practices in recent years
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Last year, the company conducted a life cycle analysis to determine the best ways to improve its sustainability
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The initial result was the Charlie sneaker, which debuted on the market on November 12
.

"This allows us to identify levers for reducing the environmental impact of shoes," Christelle Capdupuy, Louis Vuitton's global head of sustainability, told WWD
.
"Charlie is the result of all this scientific and technical work that has been done
.
"

Louis Vuitton began introducing an upcycling program for its fashion collections in 2019, and has since stepped up these efforts to meet sustainability standards set by its parent company, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy)
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The brand currently intends to transition to 100% ethically sourced materials and to 100% renewable energy in its production and corporate divisions
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"It's not easy to change the way we do things," she said
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"So at some point it was very interesting to test ourselves on the product.

Charlie is the result of a collaboration between marketing, the environmental department, our production site in Italy and our suppliers
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It allows us to test in terms of environmental impact and sourcing the most ambitious raw materials, now we're learning
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"

Vegan footwear is spreading rapidly across the industry
.
A report from Future Market Insights values ​​the vegan footwear market at approximately $24 billion and is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 7.
2% over the next decade
.