Human Construction
Human beings create FEIT products - not machines.
For thousands of years, humans produced goods primarily by hand building a global industry that employed workers in communities throughout the world. As technology advanced, human labor became the most expensive part of the production process.
Today's corporations strive to deliver quarterly growth and their focus has shifted towards automation as a means of cutting costs. The human touch is seen as obsolete. Though computer-automated production may be better for the companies, it is not necessarily so for workers, consumers, and the earth.
The use of computer-automated production has necessitated the increasing use of synthetic materials as they are more uniform and predictable in the production process.
Our master craftsman hand sewing
Hand sewn, hand lasted
All FEIT shoes are entirely hand sewn and hand lasted by master craftsmen. FEIT believes that producing by hand from natural materials creates a superior product and wearing experience. Human decision-making allows the maker to use our materials judiciously and to adapt and improve the product as needed during construction. Fewer machines also reduces the environmental impact of our supply chain and production process.
Materials
FEIT adheres to a strict policy of using biological materials and natural treatments whenever possible. Natural materials breathe, patina and become one with the wearer.
Oil and salt used in the finishing process of vegetable tanning.
Vegetable tanned leather
Leather
Leather is the superior material from which to build footwear due to its combination of flexibility and durability. FEIT footwear is mainly built using vegetable tanned cow hides, a byproduct of the meat industry. Almost every component in FEIT footwear is made from leather: uppers, insoles, midsoles, outsoles, heels and laces.
Vegetable-tanned leather breathes as in nature. It is non-irritant, soft to touch, ages richly over time and biodegrades. The leather remains neutral regardless of the temperature, and does not retain sweat or odor, allowing FEIT shoes to be worn barefoot and get better with age.
Components
FEIT uses all-natural components to ground and stabilize the wearer.
The sole is made up of six individual components. An internal leather midsole, a layer of natural cork, a bamboo shank stabilizer, a buffalo leather outsole, a rubber tread and a vegetable leather strip that encases the sole to the upper.
VEGETABLE TANNING
Vegetable-tanned leather breathes as in nature. It is non-irritant, soft to touch, ages richly over time and biodegrades. The leather remains neutral regardless of the temperature, and does not retain sweat or odor, allowing FEIT shoes to be worn barefoot and get better with age.
Components used in leather tanning
Stack of vegetable tanned semi-cordovan leathers
Leather
FEIT leathers are developed throughout Europe with tanneries that focus on traditional vegetable and metal-free tanning. The tanning process gets its name from the tannins, contained in most vegetables, employed to transform a skin. Most of the ingredients used in the tanning process have been in use for the past two thousand years. Today, in order to expedite the process and to achieve a higher level of consistency, powdered extracts are commonly used. They are obtained mainly from three species of trees: Chestnut from Europe, which gives the leather a dark brown color; Quebracho from Argentina, which makes leathers flexible and creates a warm amber color; and Acacia from Brazil and South Africa, which imbues the leather with a rose–yellow color and a firm feeling.
Fresh hides are commonly treated with lime juice to prepare the skin. Sea salt is then used to remove hairs and preserve the skin, before the dyeing process begins. Codfish oil is used to finish the skins, giving the leather a rich hand-feel and a pleasant scent.
BAMBOO
All FEIT shoes are fitted with a bamboo shank stabilizer in the midsole. It is one of the strongest natural materials in the world. Bamboo is used for its’ inherent strength-to-weight ratio being as strong as steel and almost twice the compression rate of concrete.
Bamboo is a grass, not a tree. It produces a yield 25 times higher than that of timber. With selective annual harvesting it can regenerate completely without the need to replant, making it one of the most renewable sources on the planet.
Shank stabiliser shown in our Hiker collection
Bamboo trees
Because bamboo requires few nutrients, it can grow in soil inhospitable to other plants—not only does it thrive there, it can reclaim the land so other plants can thrive, too. It’s roots leach heavy metals from the soil, hold the soil together and draw water closer to the surface.
Bamboo contains an anti-microbial element called kun which stops bacteria from growing. It is not only antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-odor. This component helps the foot to remain neutral regardless of the temperature, allowing the shoes to be worn barefoot.
The majority of global shoe production uses metal or plastic for the stabilizer.
Cork
The midsole of every FEIT shoe is filled with cork and every pair of shoes comes with a removable cork insole.
Cork has been harvested from cork oak forests throughout the world for centuries. The harvesting process is laborious and requires great skill and patience. Unlike most trees, cork is obtained from the unique thick bark of the cork oak, not the lumber. Each cork tree must be 20 years old before it can be harvested and can’t be harvested again for nearly a decade. When harvested correctly a cork oak can live between 160 and 200 years. Harvested by hand in the traditional method, the habitat is left intact with minimal impact on the environment.
Cork is lightweight, moisture resistant, comfortable under the feet, anti-fungal, and highly durable—connecting the wearer to the ground.
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Rubber
After a lengthy design process, we developed our own 100% natural latex rubber sole made out of the milk of the Hevea Brasiliensis (rubber tree). Hevea tree plantations are ecological forests. After twenty years of harvest, the Hevea trees are recycled and replaced by young plants.
Latex Collection
Harvesting
The milk is harvested by hand after four months of “winterizing” during which the Hevea trees are weakened by the loss of their foliage. Spiral incisions are made into the tree’s bark, releasing the milk without harming the tree. The harvest of 20 trees is required to produce just one pair of soles.
Sole molding
The milk is poured into steel molds immersed in warm water. After one hour, the sole is transferred into a cold-water immersion bath that lasts up to 24 and helps to keep the rubber pores open while the material cures. After 24 hours of drying, the soles are re-immersed in cold water for one week until they are trimmed and inspected for imperfections. This meticulous two-week process results in a light, naturally flexible, and 100% biodegradable sole that contains no plastic, the first of its kind in the market-place today.
Latex sole mold
Finished sole