Sustainable footwear brand Purified has launch a third shoe style with the ‘Walden’ becoming its first zero-plastic sneaker that will “enrich the soil after [its] final wear”.

And with it comes a “refreshed, contemporary design that represents a new style direction for the London brand”, the retailer noted. 

The zero-plastic shoe combines a ‘strobel’ construction [which allows the weight of the shoe to be kept to a minimum],with a non-toxic, hand-sewn binding and wave-inspired comfort system “designed for the modern day, something that has not previously existed”, claims the maker.

The sneaker is named after Henry David Thoreau’s 19th century book that celebrates his two years spent self-reliant in the Massachusetts forest, and therefore “Walden seeks to inspire adventures from the city into the wilderness and a return to earth”.

The shoe’s composed of materials producer NFW’s plastic-free Mirum and Pliant biomaterials hand-sewn in Portugal with cotton threads.

It’s available in multi, white and black colourways.

Purified founder and designer, Will Verona, said the new sneaker “is equal parts contemporary style, comfortable wear, nature-inspired and biotech-based. 

“I was reading Thoreau’s account of his time in the woods while designing the sneaker so it seemed fitting to honour his book with a fully natural shoe with simple living at its core. I’ve long believed combining nature, technology and style is the way to transform the lifecycle and consumption of footwear, and I believe our new Walden sneaker represents that best. I like to think Thoreau would have done too.”

The Walden is available to purchase exclusively on the Purified website and available to buy at Fabrica X in The Mills Fabrica building in London.