Softstar Shoes: Where Slow Fashion Meets Sustainability

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Apr 04, 2019, 08:38 ET

PHILOMATH, Ore., April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Softstar Shoes, a handcrafted leather shoe company in Oregon's Willamette Valley, has achieved accolades from Oregon Business for the fourth consecutive year. In the 100 Best Green Workplaces in Oregon category, the magazine ranked Softstar in the top 15 for the last 3 years running.

Softstar handcrafts a variety of leather shoes for babies, children, and adults in Philomath, Oregon.

Softstar's renovated workshop is complete with radiant heat flooring, energy efficient lighting, and upcycled building materials.

According to Oregon Business, the "[100 Best Green Workplaces] list showcases which organizations are going above and beyond the traditional concepts of sustainability—recycling, composting, energy conservation—to create environmentally sound enterprises." The Softstar brand is anchored in sustainability and health, making this recognition a welcome honor.

The popular Softstar brand makes footwear out of high quality leather and sheepskin sourced from ecologically and socially responsible tanneries. Their flexible, lightweight shoes are shipped in minimal packaging from their Oregon, USA, workshop, reducing the carbon footprint to 1/20^th of comparable shoes made overseas. The eco-friendly workplace culture is evident from the occupied bike racks, permeable parking lot, composting in the beautiful outdoor employee garden area and reusable cloth hand towels in the restrooms.

Softstar's green initiatives have recently included the renovation of a 12,000 square foot historic 1950s workshop with radiant heat flooring, energy efficient and upcycled construction, LED lighting and water reclamation systems. All workshop energy is 100% sourced from wind and solar. The workshop includes a showroom and customer tours to help share their message of sustainability through local production.

The company has recycling and reuse programs both for their products and internal operations. Scrap is carefully considered, reduced and repurposed. Employee programs include carpooling, alternative transportation benefits and 5-6 weeks of flexible time off per year. Future plans to install solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and a raised vegetable garden managed by employees are part of their sustainable strategy. As Softstar grows, these efforts ensure that the health of the earth will remain a priority for the company now and in the future.

Softstar Shoes produces handmade soft leather healthy shoes for feet of all ages. The company is committed to using natural, eco-friendly materials and to developing direct relationships with their customers. Their minimal shoes are designed to allow natural, barefoot-like movement which helps customers develop strong feet and a solid foundation for a life of movement. Made in the USA: 100% of Softstar's shoes are handcrafted by American leather artisans in their Oregon workshop.

Contact:
Alison Brody
(541) 753-5845
[email protected]
www.softstarshoes.com

SOURCE Softstar Shoes