ANDEE BURTON
Dr. Scholl’s product development manager Andee Burton talks sustainable design,
her hopes for the future, and doing what she loves.
HER STORY: To understand Andee Burton’s contagious passion for sustainability, you have to go to a shoe factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was there that, in 2016, she witnessed first-hand the waste generated with every shoe. She knew right then that she had to find a way to make a difference. She sparked a passion within the Dr. Scholl’s team to think, act and design in a whole new way. We’ll let her tell you the rest.
ANDEE HOLDS A PILE OF RICE HUSKS THAT GO INTO OUR ECO-CONSCIOUS OUTSOLES. AN EXAMPLE OF THE CARE SHE PUTS INTO EVERY STEP OUR OUR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY.
ON THE JOURNEY TO SUSTAINABILITY:
"We started small just trying to find more eco-conscious materials to use in our shoes, and then we realized that this would be a journey much bigger than that. Every choice we make matters.”
The Herzog sustainable sneaker
is the winner of the first-ever
Design Excellence Award in footwear,
presented by the Accessories Council.
ON DESIGNING HER FIRST SUSTAINABLE SHOE:
“Designing our first eco-conscious shoes, we were given free rein to create the most sustainable shoe possible. There’s rice husk in the outsole instead of petroleum that makes the rubber. The midsole has an algae-based EVA, and the cool thing about that is we’re taking the algae from environments where the algae is suffocating the land. The fabric is made of 80% recycled bottles, the leather is repurposed leather, and all the linings are 100% cotton, which is decomposable, unlike polyester. This shoe is our beacon of light."
ON THE IMPACT OF SUSTAINABILITY:
“It’s easy to say that it’s just one person, just one shoe, but when that one shoe is bought by 10,000 people, you realize how big the impact can be.”
ON HER VISION FOR THE FUTURE:
“We started with one sustainable shoe,
and now our sustainability efforts are
extending to every product in our
brand. In 10 years, I would love to see
every shoe we make have some
sustainable component.”
1 SHOE. 1 TREE. ALL THE FEELS.
Our passing for sustainability started as a seed and grows with every shoe we make. That's why, with every purchase of a pair of Original Collection shoes, we're donating a tree to Trees for the Future to offset carbon emissions and help impoverished families around the world plant trees for a better life. Because new shoes, more trees and changing lives... we're all about it.
