These are the values ​​behind the sustainable start-up for shoes

RE49’s sustainable Italian footwear: the benchmark for applying the circular economy to fashion. The RE49 brand and project were born from the legacy of the Eredi Masolini shoe factory in Udine, Italy, and the desire of Nicola, fourth generation of the shoemaker, to “create something that doesn’t exist yet”. RE49 is not only a brand, but also a technical project that includes blockchain software to certify the authenticity of the applied circular economy.

RE49 was created with the goal of being the exclusive partner of established fashion and design brands to create iconic shoes from production waste or production surpluses. The basic collections of RE49 are already characteristic of this approach: RE49 collects sunbeds, deckchairs and parasols from beaches destined for disposal, sails from regattas, tires from cars and bicycles, cotton from hotel sponges and turns them into shoes, those from beaches , miles and seas tell of lived kilometers, combined with an idea of ​​well-being and dolce vita. And all certified by a blockchain.

The identity of the label is based on various pillars:

  • Craftsmanship, creativity and Made in Italy
  • Sustainability in the circular economy by using materials that are already in circulation
  • Digitization and blockchain

By combining these three areas, RE49 embodies a return to its origins while the label looks to the future: with sustainability and blockchain, RE40 follows a business ethic that reveals the process from the sourcing of the materials to production and marketing .

The name RE49 is an abbreviation for Return to 1949 – and thus refers to the year in which founder Masolini made shoes from discarded materials such as disused military uniforms, car and bicycle tires. What was then a measure to survive as a business is now a necessity to protect the environment. Thus was born the Recyle, Reuse, Reborn mindset, where materials that have reached the end of their recycling cycle are given a new purpose through recycling. RE40 is thus pursuing a circular approach in which no new raw materials are used and no contribution is made to industrial overproduction.

Image: RE49, courtesy of the brand

Vision and mission of RE49

The label is motivated by three clear ideas:

  • Everything done today is for the children of tomorrow
  • The benchmark for applied circular economy
  • Recycling as a new luxury

“We want to be promoters of a philosophy that puts nature and people first. We dream of a greener world, a more ethical and sustainable industry. We research, select and adapt materials from stock and/or discarded materials to create shoes with contemporary lines, handmade, sustainable and durable. We give otherwise forgotten materials a second life.”

The value proposition that underlies everything

  • Circular Economy: Using materials that are already in circulation, such as stock or materials that have reached their end of life
  • 100% made in Italy
  • Artisan manufacture
  • personalization
  • Research & development through test and prototype phases – at least 90% circular economy
  • Limited editions that leverage the amount of material available -blockchain to reveal the process
  • Patent on the material use of recycled spinnaker sails
  • Cruelty-free: no use of animal materials
Image: RE49, courtesy of the brand

A success story with a future

RE49 is enjoying increasing popularity – numerous magazines have already featured the label, as well as international publications and some Italian ones such as Corriere della Sera, Rai, Canale Cinque, Vogue Italia, Millionaire and others. The label has received various awards, including Start-Up of the Year in June 2021 at Pitti Uomo, Red Bull Organic 2021 in Milan and as a finalist at the Luxury Venture Summit 2022 in Geneva.

Image: RE49, courtesy of the brand

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