About
Norm - The Most Sustainable Sneakers
€55,667
411
Hello and Nice to meet you !
We are 3 friends, Antoine, Arnaud and Nicolas, working in the shoes industry and fan of sneakers. More and more confronted with the impact our work have on the planet, we started to look for solutions. We realised how complicated it was to find a stylish sneakers brand that takes sustainability seriously.
So we decided to act and to create a brand ourselves.
Holistic approach
Every single decision we take, every single choice we make, is made with sustainability as a driver.
For 18 months, from the sole to the laces, we designed, we searched, we developed, to achieve our goals.
We didn’t want to compromise, we wanted to reach the highest level of sustainability on the market, yet with a pretty cool style!
Reduce the Footprint
The fashion industry accounted for 8,1% of the global climate impact with almost 4 metric gigatons of CO2 emission in 2018. This is almost as much as all the emissions of the European union.
More than 23 billion pairs of shoes are produced every year, and each one of them releases 32kg of CO2 equivalent. This is comparable to each one of us doing a 900km flight or a 2350km car trip each year.
If we want to keep our planet healthy, we need to reduce our footprint.
And to do that we have to come up with better products.
We didn’t want to just add a new product on the market, we wanted to create a concept. So we created our new norms:
Sustainability is in our blood: it is the core of what we are. From material selection, choice of supplier, transport, packaging…sustainability is the fundamental of all our decisions.
Transparency is our currency: We are 100% transparent, on our impact, on our suppliers and on our costs. We have nothing to hide and we are proud to show how we are working.
Modernity: Our products are young, innovative and turned toward the future. We decided to come with a product that would set a new standard in the industry.
Recycle, Reduce and Reuse
From the design, to every single component, we focused on those three words.
From the moment they are designed until a consumer buys them, shoes can pass through hundreds of hands and can travel thousands of kilometers.
They are made from many components. You have, of course, the upper, the laces, the labels, the sole,.. but you have also many other elements needed for the construction such as glue, thread, counters...
Eco-Design Approach
To make the shoes we wanted, we had to rethink every single part of it. We started with our Eco-design approach, minimising that number of components. Then we searched for the right materials and for the best manufacturers in Europe.
Our Materials:
Our soles are made from recycled rubber from manufacturing wastes that are crunched, melted and injected into the moulds in Portugal.
Our inner soles are made from recycled foam, our labels and laces are made from recycled plastic bottles, and our heel counters, toe boxes are made from recycled polyester fibres and are completely chemical free. For the assembly, we also use recycled yarns and water based glue.
3D Knitting Technology
For the Upper, we used the 3D Knitting Technology. For those who are not familiar with that, it's a really complex loom that knit yarns together, to produce a single piece, ready to be assembled, shoe upper.
Knit has many advantages. It is light, breathable and confortable. But even better than that, it allowed us to create a seamless design, that reduce cutting, manufacturing wastes, and the number of components.
To make Norm's knit, we use a yarn made of 100% recycled plastic bottles.
The bottles are collected locally, cleaned, mechanically crushed and then transformed into threads.
To make one pair of shoes, we recycle
Durability is a key aspect for Norm
Our products are made using qualitative materials and manufacturing techniques to ensure a prolonged life time. But to even further increase it, the knit material is very easy to repairs with a simple needle and a thread.
We selected our suppliers to minimise the distance between them, ensure the use of local materials and reduce our carbon footprint.
Based on existing studies, we evaluated the impact of every single components we use and the traveling distance they have to do until the final products are delivered to our warehouse.
The impact for one pair of Norm is only 6.5 kg of CO2 equivalent. This is 80% lower than the industry average*
We collaborate with the NGO "Seed for Life / Graine de Vie" to plant 2 trees in Madagascar and Eastern Cap for each pair of sneakers that you buy.
Together we can reforest the most needed areas, in addition to help local communities to provide employment, wood and food resources.
* based on Measuring Fashion 2018, Environmental Impact of the Global Apparel and Footwear Industries Study, Quantis
We also selected only suppliers that combined great talent and great workers.
Ethic is one of our core value and we made sure it was respected, at all time, through our entire supply chain.
We are not shy to tell you how our price is calculated. We ensure a decent pay to workers and we select qualitative products, which comes at a cost. Our cut is important, but don't worry it's not to fly away with it ! We think of the future and we want to continue to develop great products.
We created a stylish, durable and comfortable shoes, available for men and women in 5 different colours to match any styles. From the launch of the campaign, we will release a Polar White, an Eclipse Black, a Military Green, an Obsidian Blue and a Burgundy version.
All available from European size 36 to 46 (US 5 to 12).
For more information on sizing, please check the sizing chart bellow.
Polar white
Eclipse Black
Military Green
Obsidian Blue
Burgundy
Our "Family Member" T-shirt
- 100% Organic Cotton
- Made in Portugal
- Screen printing with water based ink
Want to know who's behind all this ? This is us, 3 young guys in their 30s with, still, a cumulated experience of more than 20 years in the shoes industry. Colleagues in the working environment and good friends in life, the trio is fearless and ready to fight all the big names on the market !
Arnaud fell into the shoes industry when he was still a little boy. All his family is working in the business, which makes the dinners conversation about shoes, shoes and shoes. Father of two adorable girls, he has a great experience and expertise in the sector. His great sense of humour and easy contact makes of him a great team player.
Nicolas is the believer. Shoe designer since he finished his studies in a prestigious design school in Brussels, he cumulated experiences with renowned brands. Two bulldogs and soon, two sons at home, but he still finds the time to make hundreds of beautiful sketches every day. Nicolas his a go-getter and a doer and he pushes the team to achieve its targets.
Antoine is the man in the shadow. Mechanical engineer who worked in Aerospace for years, nobody never really understood what he was doing with shoes. Still, he has a creative mindset and he gets the things organised and working. Antoine is a bit the Swiss knife of the team, fixing a door in the morning, making a business plan in the afternoon.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us, we will be glad to answer them all.
Thank you !
Antoine, Arnaud & Nicolas
Norm in practice
You will find bellow all the practical details about Norm.
Our plan is to deliver the pledges around September, but we'll do our best to shorten the lead time! Why so long? We want to make sure that everything will be perfect at the moment you receive your pair of Norm and that you can keep them as long as possible.
Our goal is to reach 25.000€ with the campaign. This will allow us to launch the first batch in production and launch the brand on the market.
When you back the project, you won't be able to choose your size and color directly. But soon after the campaign ends, you will receive an email with a survey to tell us the size(s) and color(s) you would like to receive. We will make sure that all the backer finds a way to let us now !
Finally, we will make sure to update you frequently on our progress ! If you have questions, don't hesitate to reach us by any mean you find.
SPECIAL THANKS :
Graphic Design : Nicolas Caracostas / Oblique
Video : Romain Habousha
Gif and Animations : Christophe Bravin
This campaign is promoted by Backercamp. Since 2012, Backercamp has helped 5,000+ creators make their projects a reality, raising over $250MM through crowdfunding.
Risks and challenges
Every Project comes with some risks, and Norm is no exception. However we have a great team that is experienced to take up such challenge. We selected the best manufacturers and partners and our goods are manufactured with a relentless attention to detail. We are extremely prepared to procure fabrics, manufacture high quality products, and fulfil orders on time.
To ensure that Norm is delivered without a hitch, here is what we have done to make sure this project goes smoothly:
- Customer Service: There is no successful project without happy customers. Norm is customer centric and we will do everything to ensure a world class service.During this campaign we will be sending out updates regularly and have a robust customer service management team that can answer all your inquiries from 09:00 to 17:00 CET. The comments will be answered by Antoine, Arnaud or Nicolas, so you will always be getting an answer from the founders on the comments section. we will do our best to get to them all!
- VAT & Fulfilment: Your package will be sent from our warehouse in Belgium. Once you complete your survey an order will be provided where you can track the status of your product/package in real-time 24 hours daily. VAT is prepaid and included in the price.
Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you feel there is something Norm’s team could be doing better, or if you feel there is a wrong that still needs to be righted.
It might not be perfect yet but we think it’s a good start and we did the best we could.
Our aim in the future is to develop and innovate even more to make our products better for you and the environment.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
Funding period
- (35 days)