In 2017, H. Kuntzler set to create, together with its customers, partners and suppliers, a project for the production of vegan shoes to meet an increasing consumer demand worldwide: the concern with animal rights and the reduction of impacts of industrial activities on the environment.
To that end, the company sought solutions in the supply chain and adapted part of its productive operation to be able to produce completely vegan shoes, without any animal input in its composition. This involves material solutions for uppers, soles and linings, to more subtle inputs, such as adhesives, solvents and paints.
The project was set up in conjunction with the largest animal rights organization in the world, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Involving PETA offices in the United States and France, customers, suppliers and H. Kuntzler, the project started with the creation of products, tests, adaptation of the production system and supply chain, and, finally, the certification of the factory by PETA.
Thus, we became the first company in the world certified for the production of vegan shoes for customers. Manufacture, which started with a small test order for clients in France in 2017, was very well accepted by consumers and jumped to an annual production of around 40.000 pairs in 2019.
