What is PLIANT?
- A 100% biobased outsole made from plants.
- No plastics are used in the production of PLIANT™!
- PLIANT™ can return to the Earth at the shoes’ end-of-life, breaking down and leaving behind zero toxins or microplastics.
Where does PLIANT™ come from?
- PLIANT™ is created by Natural Fiber Welding, a green chemistry platform based in Illinois, USA.
- Bared is the first Australian footwear company to introduce PLIANT™ into their range!
- Our PLIANT™ is manufactured in Vietnam.
What is it made from?
- PLIANT™ is made from natural rubber from the Hevea brasiliensis tree, and cured with NFW’s revolutionary plant-based curative.
- PLIANT contain natural rubber, which originates from latex.
- No plastics, synthetics, or petrochemicals are used to make PLIANT™.
How is PLIANT™ different from our other rubber outsoles?
- 100% natural curative
- PLIANT™ is the world’s very first 100% naturally-cured rubber outsole.
- It is impossible to use 100% natural rubber for an outsole. Uncured rubber does not have the properties necessary to make it a flexible but durable material for outsoles.
- Natural rubber needs to be cured to ensure that it stays stable and does not deform or snap.
- Natural rubber is typically cured with synthetic curatives made from petrochemicals.
- For example, our non-PLIANT™ sneaker outsoles are currently made from 52% natural rubber and 48% synthetic curatives.
- Heel outsoles are 60% natural rubber and 40% curatives.
-
No microplastics or toxins
- PLIANT™ contains no plastics and therefore does not leave behind any plastics or chemicals in the environment during or after use.
- As rubber outsoles break down while walking, they leave microplastics behind.
- When they are thrown away at end-of-life, they leach toxins and microplastics into the environment.
- By using PLIANT™ we are displacing petrochemicals in the supply chain, and giving customers an opportunity to make a more sustainable choice when buying shoes!
Does it perform like rubber?
- Yes! It is rigorously tested for tensile strength, abrasion, hardness and elongation to ensure durability and quality.
- It’s also a little softer and squishier than our current rubber soles - super comfy!
What colours can it come in?
- We have introduced PLIANT™ in gum and white so far.
- We are working on introducing black and other colours.
We will be introducing PLIANT™ across the entire range throughout this year!
You can read more about PLIANT here: https://www.nfw.earth/materials-pliant