Graz, 11 July 2022. The Austrian shoe manufacturer legero united is consistently advancing the topic of sustainability for its three brands legero, superfit and Think!. All three brands of the owner-operated family business have been awarded the industry-leading Blue Angel environmental seal for models in their AW 22/23 collections: The Fresh sneaker model from the women’s shoe brand legero has been awarded the coveted seal of quality in three colour variants as have two colour variants from the Saturnus model from the children’s shoe brand superfit. It is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022 and was once the first manufacturer of children’s shoes to receive the Austrian Ecolabel. In fact, 12 models from the AW 22/23 collection of the sustainability brand Think! have been awarded the Blue Angel.
Long-standing Focus on Sustainability
The awards provide emphatic confirmation of the pioneering role that legero united has played in the field of sustainable shoe manufacturing for decades. The company’s proprietary brand Think! has been manufacturing its collections exclusively according to sustainable standards for more than 30 years and in 2015, it was the first shoe brand to be certified with the Austrian Ecolabel and the Blue Angel. Just recently, Think! was once again voted the top brand in the sustainability category by German textile and shoe retailers as part of a study. In 2013, the company’s own VIOS Restricted Substance List standard for sustainable shoe production was introduced for the legero and superfit brands as part of the company’s proprietary VIOS development platform, which imposes significantly more stringent requirements than legal regulations or quality seals.
The “luna” Sustainability Initiative
legero united regards itself as a manufacturer with a responsibility and places a strong focus on the sustainability of its brands, products and their production with its sustainability agenda “luna” (legero united Nachaltigskeitagenda, or, in English, the legero united sustainability agenda). The company is involved in important industry initiatives – such as the HIGG index, the cads Initiative, the International Association of the Natural Textile Industry IVN as well as respACT – and primarily works with leather suppliers who are certified by the Leather Working Group LWG. legero united is also a member of the Science Based Target Initiative. “We make every effort to minimise the consumption of materials, water and energy at all of our sites to actively promote the use of renewable energy, to strictly separate waste and to recycle it wherever possible, and to also keep our emissions to air, water and the soil as low as possible. In cooperation with our suppliers and partners, we intend to reduce the environmental pollution along our entire value creation chain. Our goal is to be CO2 neutral by 2030,” says Alenka Klarica, CCO of legero united.
About legero united: Founded in 1872, the family-run company with around 2,100 employees and its headquarters in Graz, Austria, will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2022. It operates its own logistics and production facilities in Austria, Hungary, Romania and India. Under the umbrella of legero united, shoes are developed, manufactured and distributed throughout 42 countries for the three brands legero, superfit and Think!.