Reformation x New Balance Link up for a Range of Sustainable Sneakers
Take a full look here, along with an interview with the teams behind the first-ever partnership.
With sustainability increasingly becoming a major topic in fashion and beauty, New Balance has tapped Reformation to reinvent some of its classic styles using eco-friendly materials. This marks the sportswear brand’s first-ever sustainability-led collaboration and Reformation’s debut into the sneaker world.
Each shoe is crafted with materials like post-consumer recycled polyester, chrome-free suede, EVA foam and BLOOM algae, all printed with soy-based ink. Spotted in the collection are the 574 and X90 silhouettes dressed in hues like dusty pink, blue and yellow.
Ahead of the launch, we caught up with the teams at Reformation and New Balance behind the first-ever collaboration. Read on below to learn more about sustainable practices in the production processes of the sneakers. The collaborative range is slated to drop on October 10 at Reformation and New Balance‘s online and retail locations.
For more sustainable items, check out Converse’s Renew Tri Panel Denim Chuck 70.
Why did New Balance choose to work with Reformation on its first sustainability-led collaboration?
Not only is Reformation a pioneer in the sustainability space, but they also place a high value on quality material, fit and function. These shared values made Reformation a natural collaboration partner for New Balance. Ultimately the point of collaboration is taking the best of both brands to deliver a pinnacle product. The Reformation x New Balance collection amplifies this sentiment by reimagining classic New Balance silhouettes with Reformation’s effortless aesthetic.
- Nicole Underwood, Associate Marketing Manager, Global Collaborations at New Balance
Were there any challenges in defining what sustainability meant, or with the production process?
New Balance has been working really hard to establish a meaningful path forward for our product through environmentally-preferred materials. It’s not just about one project, but formatting our entire footwear business to adapt. The project with Reformation ended up being a needed catalyst to jump-start our conversations around better materials and how we work with our supply chain to ensure best-practice and honesty.
For me, the biggest hurdle was showing that progress and action are better than waiting for perfection in the long term. We currently don’t have the answers to some material questions but with collaborations like this, along with our own internal passion to change, we are on our way to being and doing better. We identified early on that virgin polyester is a big contributor to our material footprint, so the use of recycled polyester in this footwear collection is a great step forward. It can feel like a small change but one that can really make a difference.
Some of the materials used for this project were also relatively new for us, like the chrome-free suede and BLOOM foam liner. Working through some unknowns was difficult but also really promising. It affirmed for me how important design, development, and materials expertise is for success. I feel really fortunate that our materials supply chain has been open and encouraged to explore environmentally preferred materials and processes and that New Balance already upholds a high standard for factory and supplier audits. I’m excited for what future projects bring, including new innovations that move us all in a better direction.
- Alex Carlson, Senior Materials Designer at New Balance
How is the Reformation ethos reflected in the sneakers?
At Reformation, our mission is to bring sustainable fashion to everyone, so we continue to innovate across categories and partner with different brands to offer consumers more sustainable product choices. We saw a huge opportunity with New Balance to marry our sustainability knowledge with their expertise in sneaker design to reinvent their classic sneaker styles using sustainable materials. We’re really proud of our first collection of sneakers and thrilled to see such an iconic brand prioritize sustainable innovation.
- Yael Aflalo, Founder and CEO of Reformation
