Circularity, i.e. putting products, or the materials from which they are made, back into circulation, will play an important role in the future. For us as manufacturers of complex footwear made up of many different components, this represents a major challenge.
Recycling our footwear is not yet possible, although we are active in a number of pilot projects aimed at finding solutions to this. However, our repair and care service offers a very good basis for this, as it significantly extends the life of the shoes, thus considerably reducing the CO2 footprint.
This brings us back around to our choice of materials: by insisting on high quality at the procurement stage, we can ensure that our footwear has a long service life. In addition, we test the robustness and physical properties of our materials in a laboratory that has been set up specifically for this purpose.
Quality in focus: Innovative materials and technologies
High-quality outdoor and mountain boots consist of many individual components. In order to produce shoes that meet all demands and requirements, LOWA has been successfully using innovative technologies from external partners for decades.
We know, then, that products which last a long time are good for the environment, and this is certainly true of LOWA shoes and boots, which are known for their high quality and robustness. But even the best-quality boots need and deserve good care in order to remain comfortable and resistant to soiling and water. Regular care will also extend their life.
This applies in particular to leather as an animal-based resource (skin) that has been cut off from its natural method of care (the way the animal cares for itself). The care of leather is absolutely necessary, since it will otherwise dry out, become brittle and lose its core characteristics such as high resilience, abrasion resistance, shape retention and breathability.
LOWA’s line of care products is already completely free of PFC. LOWA Shoe Clean is composed of up to 90 percent natural ingredients like bamboo. In combination with the PFC-free LOWA Water Stop PRO and LOWA Active Creme, it will keep your footwear clean, water-repellent and well cared-for, whilst also being kind to the environment.
Boots do not have to be replaced just because the soles wear out. Many boots and shoes can be resoled. LOWA’s resoleable footwear includes, for instance, shoes and boots with cemented soles from the Mountaineering and Trekking lines. If you’re unsure about your shoes or boots, contact a speciality store or our LOWA service department. If your shoes or boots belong to a resoleable category, you can send them in right away, and they will be resoled by staff at our service workshop in Jetzendorf. You will only be charged for materials. The LOWA repair service resoles roughly 15,000 shoes and boots a year.
Austria
Switzerland
Germany
(as of 2019)
Resoles Germany: Year by year
Our heel renewal service is also increasingly popular, with more than 1,000 heels repaired each year
Heels from all shoes in the All Terrain Classic and All Terrain Sport lines are repaired as follows: The worn heels are sanded down until they are aligned with the remaining sole. The back of the heel is then slightly rounded so that the shoe can roll over nicely after the heel renewal. The sanded area is coarsened, pretreated with a substance, coated in a special PU glue and then assembled.
The next step is an oven. The heat activates the glue so that the heel can be pressed onto the shoe in the second step. Then it’s time to make aesthetic adjustments, such as trimming off any loose material, sanding down any protruding edges and making sure the colour matches the existing soles. The costs for this renewal likewise amount only to the personnel and material costs.
Heel renewals Germany, Austria, Switzerland (as of 2019)
For LOWA, having a collaborative relationship with service providers, retailers and consumers is just as important as providing good value for the money. As a company, we pride ourselves on our long-lasting business relationships built on mutual trust and respect. As a matter of course, the company handles customer data in a responsible manner and complies with legal requirements regarding data confidentiality and data protection.
Furthermore, LOWA guarantees a high level of availability and service quality and offers comprehensive individual support to retailers.
• Practice-oriented retailer training (including product inspection and service offers such as repairs etc.)
• Practice-oriented retailer events (mystery-solving training events, hikes with merchandise and product tests)
• Expert advice over the phone for orders and repairs
• Presentation of the collection in ten LOWA showrooms in Germany
• Support for on-site consultations and sales (through, for example, retailer events such as 3D foot measurement, the history of the hiking boot, LOWA experts)
• Repair services such as resoling and retaining the product value
• Consultations over the phone for buying hiking boots (no sales)
• Retailer referral
• LOWA test centre
• Consultation over the phone regarding the repair of hiking boots that have been sent in