The start-up Woowe is producing footwear more sustainable and cruelty free, using an alter-leather made from maple, ebony and cherry foils. Le Boudoir Numérique talked with Mara Marchesi, export manager of the Italian company, yesterday, at Viva Technology Paris.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Le Boudoir Numérique : What is Woowe ?

Mara Marchesi, export manager at Woowe : Woowe is a start-up founded in 2017 by Matteo di Maggio and Emanuele Persendi. Matteo is the son of three generations of foortwear artisans, in the Italian commune of Vigevano, known for its long tradition of luxury shoes. Matteo and Emanuele wanted to associate these quality standards with innovative techniques to create a new product for the footwear market in evolution, a new type of shoes that would be sustainable and cruelty free, thanks to an innovative material, the wood leather.

Woowe stand at VivaTech, June 16, 2021 featuring the wood alter-leather shoes of the italian start-up (©Le Boudoir Numérique)

What is wood leather ?

Our wood leather, that we also call pelle di legno in Italian, is made from woods, maple, ebony and cherry, coming from ethically managed forests in the world. The wood foil is micro-laser processed, then coupled with cotton that is certified Ecotec (the italian green label of an ecological process recycling leftovers from manufacturing into a 100% cotton yarn with 80% recycled content, AN). Wood leather is flexible and soft as real leather. It’s light and very confortable, like a second skin for the foot, that can breath. The fabrication process of wood leather also manages to maintain the natural wood grains. So, if two people buy the same model of a Woowe shoe, they will not receive the same pair of shoes, because every pair is unique, as the wood grain is different. it's not massified market. The wood grain is not replicable in series. We can also produce the shoes made on measure.

So, Woowe shoes are more sustainable ?

Our shoes are eco-responsible. Beside Ecotec certified cotton, we also use cork, recycled natural linen, recycled satin and water-based adhesives, never chemical glues or plastic. You can recycle every part of the shoes, that are handmade locally, in Italy. We are transparent about the materials that we use, because if we sell them as natural, nothing must be hidden.

And the shoes are vegan ?

Our footwear is produced without the use of animal skins. There are no animal derivatives in our brand, that is labeled VVV+ from LAV’s Animal Free Fashion (a project to promote a fashion industry that is respectful of non-human animals, launched by Lega Anti Vivisezione, an italian association for the protection of animals, founded in 1977, AN). As the shoes are vegan, there is no polluting tanning process involved. The production of a Woowe shoe compared with an animal-based leather shoe consumes 63% less energy.

Why is it important to buy shoes like yours ?

It's important because something must change in our attitude. It is time to end this mass consumption with a high impact on the planet to be at peace with the environement and the animals. Everybody should have access to this kind of product. Maybe one should buy one pair of shoes less, but buy the right one, a significant pair of shoes, like a Woowe made in wood leather, that adds value to the world.

* Woowe shoes are available on the brand website here. Lega Anti Vivisezione website is here, Animal Free Fashion website is there.

* Le Boudoir Numérique met Mara Marchesi, on June 16, 2021, at the startup and tech event Viva technology, in Paris. This fifth edition of VivaTech is taking place from June 16 to 19, 2021, at Expo Porte de Versailles and online. More info on VivaTech website here.