Collaboration between its Corporate Social Responsibility, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and S.B. Foot Tannery teams, as part of efforts to develop more circular approaches to leather waste management, has been attributed as the root of this environmental success.
Red Wing said all leather waste generated at its Minnesota tannery and manufacturing sites is now sent to Matter Systems, where it is converted into biochar. Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich material that can contribute to soil health and long-term carbon storage.
According to Red Wing, the initiative represents a significant operational change supported by cross-functional teams and external partners, with the aim of finding more sustainable uses for materials generated through its operations.
Upcycling leather waste
ILM reports regularly on ways in which to reduce waste through the upcycling of leather byproducts. For instance, Dr Jordi Escabrós, R&D, Trumpler Espanola, discusses the merits of upcycling leather waste here, while Anke Mondschein, Ekkehard Werner, Volker Rabe (TFL), Stefan Dittrich and Michael Meyer of the FILK Institute Freiberg, Germany, discuss efforts to minimise waste when processing hides here. Moreover, Gustavo Adrián Defeo FSLTC, an Italian/Argentinean chemist with more than 40 years of expertise in leather chemistry and colour physics, discusses leather’s sustainability profile in an EN 16848 standard context here.
