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Present day conversations of sustainability largely revolve around clothing, ignoring the hefty amount of plastic generated in making footwear. The material has been celebrated as both a performance and aesthetic benchmark and some of the most renowned sneaker companies are also guilty of producing substantial amounts of toxic plastics.
Confronting the end-of-life issues from industries reliant on crude, A Blunt Story addresses the surmounting waste problem by keeping it out of waste streams that are polluting our ecosystem. The brand’s ethos is rooted in concepts of ‘Uncrude’ and ‘Unwaste’, which were developed as a much-needed response to outdated ideals and reflect the hope for evolution.
In the ongoing wave of greenwashing, most brands wear a garb of sustainability without any real evidence. By offering transparency with real steps towards change, Blunt Story abandoned the crude oil paradigm to eradicate petroleum-derived plastics and petrochemicals from the entire chemistry of their soles with UNCRUDE®. The brand also repurposes and up-cycles waste that would otherwise end up in landfills with UNWASTE™.’
Subverting and challenging the time-worn systems with a radical and pluralistic reimagining of materials and products, a Blunt Story is presenting an alternative narrative in materials with the launch of their first range of sandals made from plant-based and recycled inputs at ‘Material Matters’ during the London Design Festival and at Bio Art Laboratories during the Dutch Design Week.
The design festivals bring forward innovators and experimentalists whose practice is at the cutting edge of materials; functioning as a gateway to a world of unlimited possibilities where science, nature, technology and creativity go hand in hand and building the foundation for a sustainable bio-based community which offers room for thinking and creating solutions.
Representing a shift in the way we design, the brand remains conscious of its supply chain. Their genesis is rooted in its geography, India, where the consequences of production and consumption at an untenable scale are urgently felt, and where the effects of an economy reliant on fossil fuels can be seen, smelled, and tasted in the air that one breathes.
“When we started, it was hard finding materials that aligned with our vision. In part because the industry is so hardwired on the need for plastics and petrochemicals while knowing that it was contaminating our ecosystems and putting the lives of many at risk. That made no sense to us. Not only did we not want to perpetuate this system, but we also wanted to do our bit to change it from the ground up. We spent over 2 years between labs and factory floors creating UNCRUDE as a way to question the systems in place, the truths we have believed, and those who dictated them.”
— Chandni, Founder
With India being the largest exporter of rice in the world, it is left dealing with a lot of the waste from the process. A Blunt Story utilised this abundantly available waste material alongside bio-based oils in the process. The resulting footbed is 96% bio-based and the outsole is 70% bio-based, and both are also recyclable.
Their quantifiable efforts serve as a message for a larger audience and the materials developed by them work to inform and engage to better understand their impact. A Blunt Story is intersecting conversations about existence, agency, and our place within systems that are seemingly cemented in place. Promoting conscious consumption through thoughtful construction and design invites the wearer to question said materials.
The range alongside materials will be showcased at Material Matters 2022, 22-25 September 2022 during the London Design Festival and at BioArt Laboratories from 22 to 30 October 2022, during the Dutch Design Week.
Find more about the brand here.
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