These students are going green, one pineapple shoe at a time
This start-up company in Quebec is going green with a tropical flair.
SCOLOCO is the brainchild of students at Collège Sainte-Anne de Lachine and their teacher, Brigitte Dionne, who wanted to take a hands-on approach to business class by starting a real company -- and one that contributes to a green economy.
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The shoes are made with 100 per cent cotton laces, natural rubber soles and Piñatex, a newcomer to the leather-substitute market made from pineapple husk fibres.
The class wanted to create a vegan product, Dionne told MétéoMédia, but without using faux-leather made from plastic, a petroleum derivative.
According to the Piñatex company site, the product is sustainably-sourced and cruelty free, using the byproduct of existing agricultural processes.
Matthew Tsirmbas, one of the students involved in the project, told Global News the group was interested in taking steps toward a greener future. "We just told ourselves: 'It's time for us to take a stand, and this is how we are going to make our stand," Tsirmbas said.
The shoes are availabe for sale online.
