Everything we do first considers how it will effect the environment

We believe there's little point in a sustainable anything, if the process of producing it requires more energy or materials than an unsustainable version. We have built our business from the ground up to be as efficient as possible in regard to environment and materials.

Our main manufacturing plant uses self sufficient solar panels to provide energy, reducing CO2 emissions and lowering environmental impact.

Our materials are between 65% and 82% bio-based (USDA Certified), compared to typical synthetic leathers which are between 95 - 99% petroleum based. This not only means we don’t use animal based products, but our approach is also significantly better for the environment.

Every year, millions of shoes are confined to landfill around the world - many that use materials that slowly decompose over a period of between 40-50 years - emitting harmful chemicals, gas into the air and soil as they do. Landfills are flooded every year with millions of old shoes, most of them taking about half a century to decompose, continuously releasing harmful substances into the environment during the process.

When yet is time for you and your Yatay to part ways - if they can’t be passed on to another person, an act we strongly encourage - we suggest you return them to us. We will recycle the rubber sole and appropriately dispose what can not be re-used.

Padding is what makes a shoe comfortable, but “old school” padding material often present a high environmental impact. All our padding instead is either obtained from bio-derived oil or comes from re-cycling byproducts obtained while making the upper and lining materials (waste foam). We are working to add “spent Yatay” as a third source of padding material.

Part of our philosophy is that abusiness can be a force for good. A palm (Butia Yatay) inspired the name of our brand, and we want to support in a meaningful way towards one of nature's most vital organisms : trees.

For each pair of Yatay we sell, we pledge to plant a tree in a forest in Kenya, helping to off-set the emissions we produce during manufacturing and contributing to a cleaner environment.

Waste is unavoidable during any manufacturing process: it is impossible to bring industrial waste to 0, but it can minimised and most importantly often recycled

Our vegan leather off-cuts are cycled to create a beautifully simple mini-bag given as complimentary gift with all orders. Perfect for the beach or a short walk when only few essentials are needed.

All our boxes our shoes are dispatched in doubles as a backgammon board, reflecting our motto "A GAME WORTH PLAYING". Backgammon is one of the oldest games known to man and like all board games - is a reminder to spend time with friends and loved ones without digital distraction.