FSNYE summer 2024 finds cactus/ plastic made shoes with YY Nation

SUSTAINABLE OASIS

Here in New York City, there’s been a conscious effort to eliminate the use of plastics with all our essentials. The first step came back in 2021 with the elimination of plastic bags at supermarkets and bodegas. Now, the effort has shifted to eliminating plastic bottles when buying beverages as aluminum cans, milk cartons, and glass make sustainability more possible than before. But even with all our best efforts, plastic pollution is still an enormous problem, with river piles and plastics used to make footwear. One way to reduce plastic bottle pile-up is through footwear. FSNYE today introduced DANIEL PLUS LAUREN to YY Nation, a fantastic shoe collection using plastics to make their shoes, and also cactus plant life.

Once wasteful plastic has been gathered, YY Nation processes it to be a super-comfortable sneaker. YY Nation’s wearable and organically certified shoe includes the Cirrus which is a knitted, breathable, and hemp lightweight summer shoe made with cactus leather, recycled plastic, and recycled rubber proven durable. Leather shoes are also on tap with the Stratus, it’s 100 percent cactus leather, post-consumer material for reinforcement, and outdoors made of sugarcane. Pineapple leather does exist with the Cirro multi-purpose shoe that’s soft, durable, and ethically made.

Here’s a little more background information about the cactus plant with YY Nation’s cactus collection of men and women’s shoes. Cactus is versatile and lightweight; the cactus made shoe is all terrain, temperature regulated, and comfortable. The cactus plant nopales is shaved, reducing harmful chemicals and petrochemicals used in conventional leather and plastic based materials. From this cactus leather creation, you have cactus range that’s light and cool on your feet. Cactus is made smooth using ‘Wood pulp’ Tencel™ lining, wicking away moisture to regulate your feet down to a cool temperature. Tencel™ material is silky smooth, making highly sustainable cactus leather in the YY Nation Cactus Leather collection comfortable and durable to wear.

You’ll definitely love YY Nation’s beautifully source shoe options also made of bamboo and merino. Plus, there’s Nimbo for those busy bees who need tough and super comfortable slip-ons. And don’t forget the tough kid on the block with Strato who manufactures a sustainably tough looking shoe that whole-heartedly treats your feet right. There’s comfort to be found in earthly places, YY Nation saves our planet with shoes entirely made from nature.

Daniel Quintanilla