STORY

D’BRIS comes from the word debris. Debris means scattered pieces of trash or remains. That is what D’BRIS recycled shoes are made from. Our shoes are trash. 

It all began at a skatepark while complaining over a broken shoe and the lack of more sustainable options on the market. At first we just wanted to go on a mission to see who was making the best recycled shoe in the skate and surf community. It was clear early on that a recycled shoe that fitted our taste, style and environmental consciousness did not exist. Then delving deeper and looking at the so called market leaders of recycled shoes in the general fashion industry, we soon discovered that their products were hidden by a facade of market tactics that made their products seem ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly, ' which is commonly referred to as ‘greenwashing’. We also found that most of these recycled shoes, even if they used more materials, were made in questionable places where fair work and trade practices were suspect. Clear concerns resonated with us here, so we set out on a mission to see if we could make a recycled shoe, with recycled materials, in a factory that had fair work and trade practices. Simple right?

In fact this was no easy task. We crisscrossed our way across Europe seeking suppliers and ethical manufacturing for eco-friendly or recycled shoes. At one tradeshow event in Milan, we were laughed at by the major fashion suppliers who said an affordable, more sustainable or recycled shoe was impossible! We asked 100’s of industry leaders why there aren't more recycled shoe options on the market? And why the big fashion companies lie or hide the so-called sustainable practices they advertise? No one had a clear answer, which only fuelled our commitments to bring this project to life. Our mission continued from 2018 into 2019 as we continued to gather small leads, until we eventually nailed a supply chain local to an ethical factory, with fair workplaces in Spain. 

Since then, we have managed to make a competitively priced, handcrafted shoe made from ocean plastic and car tires, which we launched on Kickstarter in late 2019, to be able to fund the production of our first batch shoes. Our mission has finally become a reality and we hope you can join us on this journey of promoting our recycled shoe and proving that a more sustainable option, even if not fully sustainable, with less raw materials is always possible.