Join DopeKicks, the eco-friendly sneakers made with hemp!

Given the urgent situation that our planet is experiencing, to wear shoes made of leather or clothes made of non-sustainable materials is a thing of the past. An eco-friendly alternative arrives from Portugal. DopeKicks is a hemp waterproof shoes brand that, according to their creators promise, ‘will last a lifetime. It seems to us that it is the 21st century footwear and we think we should all worry more about the origin and manufacture of the clothes that make up our wardrobe. We tell you more about this product!

“We first started DopeKicks with one vision in mind, to build the coolest shoes, with eco-friendly vegan materials, super resistant, waterproof and still accessible to everyone. We wanted to outperform all the other shoes in every category, and that is exactly what we have done”. This is the definition of its creators when we ask them about their objective when starting with this project.

And they’ve got reasons to be proud since DopeKicks meet a series of requirements that make them the super shoes. A shoe made of hemp fiber with recycled rubber soles and cork insoles. In addition to that, they are ecological, 100% waterproof and 100% vegan. And the design is not last, because they are so cool that they are perfect to complete your look day or night. What else do you want?

Sneakers that support hemp growers

The creators of DopeKicks joke about, the material these shoes are made of, hemp.

“is not a shoe for consumption, if smoked it will not get people high. Hemp is actually the “sober cousin” of marijuana. It has a minimal amount of psychoactive components, and for that reason it is legal everywhere in the world and the team has already travelled across Europe, China and the US with the shoes. Even a group of enthusiastic security officers liked the sneakers and wanted to take a picture of them”.

They take the opportunity to explain the people a bit about hemp history “Did you know hemp is so strong Henry Ford once built a car with it? It was 10 times stronger than steel, and Henry Ford was so confident in the strength of the panel, that he took an axe to hit the car. The axe, that would have cut through any steel panel simply bounced back.”

Sustainable with the environment

The creators of DopeKicks say they spent four months traveling and sampling, until they found the right suppliers. They had to make sure that their material had the best strength while remaining flexible and durable. And for that reason they chose hemp, a material with a lot of potential.

“Besides being super strong, it is also very environmentally friendly. It consumes 3 times less water than cotton, and it has a minimal impact on the soil. ” The creative team recalls that “by backing our project you are directly supporting hemp farmers from around the world. „

Recycled rubber soles

DopeKicks soles are made of recycled rubber, „a premium material available in nature.“ And, as they stress, reuse is important because “ The global shoe industry makes over 25 billion pairs a year and most of them end up in landfills, or worse, in our oceans.“ By supporting our project you are directly contributing to remove these dirty shoes from the environment and transform them into something good.

Besides being eco-friendly, cork is made of a non-deforming, natural cushioned material that always regains its form after many years of usage. Are they single-season shoes? Not at all, since cork is temperature regulating and it keeps your feet cold in the summer and warm in the winter.

“That’s why some Portuguese people use it in construction as insulation. With the extra foam layer, we guarantee the right mix between hardness and cushion, perfect for either hiking or casual cruising”, they claim.

For off-road people

Thanks to the engineering employed, the sole of these shoes is designed for a wide range of applications. They wanted to make something for the heavy outdoor user that would be light enough for the casual user.

“By strategically carving the outsoles we got a maximum grip level with reduced overall weight”, they confess.

Full protection against wind, cold, liquids and dust

Cork has also anti-microbial properties and can naturally repel small vermin and insects with a waxy substance called suberin; this wax allows having water-resistant attributes and helps promote healthy feet. “We wanted to make something for the active person, the challenger, the explorer, something that could provide the best experience under any conditions, and that’s why we built it waterproof”.

The creators of DopeKicks were looking for hemp made to repel all water from coming in. During the manufacturing process we added a special coating layer that would protect the fabric and its properties from stains, liquids and dust particles. This will make the fabric very easy to clean as well. To guarantee that no water would come in we also added a special waterproof membrane, providing a total 2 layers of protection and keeping your feet dry no matter what. 100% protection against wind, cold, liquids and dust

Ethically made in Portugal

DopeKicks chose fair trade production and they are empowering workers.

“By choosing fair trade production we are empowering people so that they too can choose environmentally friendly sneakers when they go to the store. Because only together, we can change things for better.” This is another reason why we like DopeKicks.

Currently, 90% of the world’s footwear is produced in Asia. Most of the times workers are treated very poorly including precarious salaries, endless days and scarce security in their factories. We chose Portugal for several reasons. The local shoe industry is huge and it has been supplying top world brands with nothing but the best quality.

“We know we are delivering real value to people, not only our customers but also to the employees, the ones working hard to build DopeKicks”.

Good sneakers take you to good places

“Either if you are travelling in the tropics, running in the mountain or just chilling by the beach, DopeKicks will be there, because good sneakers take you to good places”, says the philosophy of these vegan Portuguese shoes made from hemp. We hope that soon there will be many more projects like these sending so necessary messages to the planet.