Resole: Hanwag’s answer to “disposable” fashion

In Europe, an enormous volume of textile and shoe waste is generated every year. Statistics indicate around 5.2 million tonnes of waste produced each year from clothing and footwear alone. Once produced and used, shoes present the additional problem of disposal, as they are made of different materials such as leather, plastic and metal, which are often difficult to recycle. For this reason, most used shoes end up in household waste and are incinerated. Hanwag, one of Europe’s leading names in high-quality mountaineering and trekking footwear, offers the possibility to resole its models instead of having to throw them away and buy them again, thus extending the useful life of the product. This not only reduces the ecological footprint of each pair of Hanwag boots, but also reduces the consumption of resources and the creation of waste. Furthermore, as the upper of the boots generally remains in good condition even after several years and kilometres of use, while only the lower part, i.e. the sole, needs to be replaced, resole allows you to preserve and maintain the unique fit of your already perfectly shaped shoes on your foot, while at the same time integrating a new sole that offers renewed grip and traction for trekking or mountaineering.

Resole moulding is a true tradition for Hanwag, carried on for over a century. For Hans Wagner, founder of the brand in the early 1900s, it was indeed essential to produce durable footwear, as his customers could not afford to buy new boots frequently. For this reason, even back then, Hanwag boots could be completely re-soled.  To take advantage of the resole service today, Hanwag users can take their boots to a specialised dealer, or send them directly to the company’s headquarters.