repairable shoes – Herring Shoes Journal

Celebrate Recycle Week with repairable shoes

16 October 2023

Recycle Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and while we do not recycle shoes in the purest sense, we do sell shoes and boots that can be repaired multiple times and use highly biodegradable leather which minimises their impact versus cheaper styles that end up in landfill and have plastics or synthetic leather components.

As a business, we believe in slow fashion to meet the needs of an increasingly environmentally conscious world that is trying to move away from its throwaway habits. Therefore, having the ability to repair or restore is important.

Rather than buying clothing or footwear at a cheaper price and discarding items when we no longer like them or they have inevitably fallen apart, we advise buying quality goods that can be repaired.

The secret to the long-term life of our shoes and boots is in the Goodyear-welting process. Yes, it adds to the price of the shoes, but you will get your investment back by repairing them rather than buying new, as long as you take care of the uppers.

What makes Goodyear-welted footwear repairable is that your cobbler can cut the old sole off through the welt and then attach a new one. This process can be repeated three or more times giving your feet many years of service while not having to wear in your already perfectly worn in shoes or boots.

We clearly demonstrate which shoes are repairable using our “Sustainable: Designed to be repairable” logo so our customers can understand why the price-tag maybe a little bit more than they first expected.

That said, all the shoes and boots in our bestselling Office Essentials range are Goodyear-welted, are reasonably priced, and we are currently offering a 30%* discount on this collection.

If you want to support Recycle Week or want to make the step towards sustainable living, then a repairable pair of shoes may be a good place to start.

Herring achieved the Carbon Neutral International standard two years ago. We use 100% recycled cardboard for our shipping containers, only use recyclable plastic when necessary, and have PV panels on our warehouse roof to offset electricity usage. All our products are made in factories that use respected European tanneries that are regulated to minimise environmental impact. Shipments have been offset with payments towards green energy initiatives.

*While stocks last

Herring Shoes

Spread the cost with slow fashion, by Max McMurdo

5 September 2019

As an artisan, I am interested and inspired by the workmanship that goes into creating a quality product. I like to think of the design, the tools that are used, the sore fingers, the passion, etc., but quality products often come with a price tag.

I admit, my Scottish descent meant I was always looking out for a bargain. I bought cheap stuff that lasted five minutes. I just did not understand the implications of my choices.

I think we should pay twice as much for most things, including our shoes! If you paid £200 for a pair of shoes that would last you 10 years, then that equates to £20 a year. You would be hard pressed to find a pair of shoes for that amount these days…even cheap shoes.

When you the consider the cost to the environment of importing goods into this country and add in the social implications of the underpaid or slave labour used by cheap shoe manufacturers, then £20 a year looks like an even better deal. Sure, those 10 years will inevitably see you pay for new soles or repairs, but when you get them back, they will still fit you like a glove and will be very comfortable as the leather moulds to your individual foot shape.

Slow fashion must be the way forward. Rather than buying something cheap – that will most likely be uncomfortable or made from sweaty materials – we should invest in our craftsmen, our environment, our fellow human beings…and our feet!

Herring’s welted shoes come with a ‘Repair Service’ tag to identify which of their shoes can be sent back to the original manufacturer for repairs. If their owners look after them well, these shoes will last for years and years to come and will be a joy to wear.

Find out more about Max McMurdo in Look Who’s Wearing

Follow Max: @maxreestore

Herring Shoes

Slow fashion for your feet

26 April 2019

A staff member’s pair of Herring Chamberlain, showcasing how they hold up after 5+ years of wear and care.

With so-called fast fashion contributing more to climate change than air and sea travel, Herring Shoes is proud to have been a dedicated supporter of ‘slow fashion’ since our inception in 1966.

Not only do our shoes and boots encapsulate timeless classic styles that rarely go out of fashion, they are made to last.

In the past 15 years, global clothing production has doubled to meet demand for quick turnaround garments. The quick turnaround does not refer to the time they take to make, but rather the time they are worn.

In some cases, a garment is only worthy of single social media post before they are thrown away or forgotten. This has left a trail of predominantly low-cost cast-offs, with more than half of fast fashion items thrown away in less than a year, according to the consultants McKinsey*.

The environmental impact from the microfibres in discarded clothing is significant. Make Fashion Circular revealed greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production totalled 1.2 billion tonnes of CO₂equivalent globally in 2015 ** .

With major clothing and footwear companies currently under scrutiny from an all-party environmental audit committee and a report pending, this is an issue that will hit the headlines again in the coming weeks.

Our loyal customers know that Herring Shoes does not sell clothing or footwear for a few pounds. Our dedication to quality means the urge to simply discard one of our items should be reduced. More than that though, we produce shoes and boots that are designed to last for many years.

Longevity has always been a part of our philosophy. An investment in a pair of Herring Shoes will pay you back with years on your feet wearing comfortable and stylish footwear.

Moreover, our shoes can be repaired, as discussed in our recent blog repair to extend the life of your shoes . This means they can be returned to the original factories they were manufactured in to be professionally restored by highly skilled craftsmen.

Unlike other manufacturers, we want you to hang onto your Herring Shoes. We want you to love them and feel the joy of shoes that have moulded to your feet over time. There is nothing fast about the relationship we want you to have with our shoes. Long may it continue.

* Is fast fashion giving way to the sustainable wardrobe? The Guardian, Dec 2018

** Make Fashion Circular Report, 2017

Herring Shoes

Repair to extend the life of your shoes.

5 March 2019

In an increasingly environmentally-conscious world that is trying to move away from the throwaway society’s habits of recent times, having the ability to repair or restore is important.

As consumers, we have got into the habit of buying items at a lower price to simply replace them when they break or wear out. That has encouraged some manufactures to produce goods that only have a short lifespan and cannot be repaired.

Herring products take a different, long-term approach. Most of our shoes are made using Goodyear Welted construction which is expensive but gives a shoe the best long-term repairability. They are always repairable by cutting the old sole off, through the welt, and attaching new one by a competent cobbler. This process can be repeated three or more times giving many years of service.

The image below will show next to factory repairable shoes indicating that they can be resoled using the original lasts at the original factory, so they come back almost as good as new but with the benefit of the uppers being worn-in to your individual shoe shape. In some ways this is even better than a new pair! Imagine sending your car back for a new engine and transmission, for a fraction of the price of a new car – how long would you be able to keep it instead of buying a new one?

As long as you look after your shoes (see our helpful guide here), repairs can ensure your favourite pair of brogues, Chelsea boots and so on are good to wear for at least 10 years. What’s more, whenever they are repaired, they will still fit you the way they always have as you will not have to break them in again.

Whether you return them to us to send back to the manufacturer or use a high street cobbler, your shoes will repay your investment over many years and will undoubtedly work out more cost effective than replacing your shoes several items with cheaper versions.

Furthermore, you will serve to contribute to a global need to drive down waste and the carbon footprint of production.

If you have purchased a pair of shoes from Herring Shoes and you are uncertain as to whether they can be repaired or not, please get in contact with our customers services team on +44 (0)1548 854886 who will be able to advise you.

Browsing Tag: repairable shoes

Celebrate Recycle Week with repairable shoes

Spread the cost with slow fashion, by Max McMurdo

Slow fashion for your feet

Repair to extend the life of your shoes.