Hello, welcome back to the blog! In this next series, I’ll be writing about the environmental pollution arising from the make of climbing shoes. To begin, let’s take a trip back in time to learn about the origins of the modern day rock climbing shoe and the key events that have shaped its production.
Beginnings of the rock climbing shoe: Modern mountaineering leather boots
The rock climbing shoes we’re familiar with today look worlds apart from the earlier pairs of shoes worn back in the 19th Century. Sport climbing emerged as a derivative of modern mountaineering and established itself as an independent sport around the 1890s (Zhu et al., 2021). Therefore, some of the earliest rock climbing shoes were actually mountaineering boots!
Before the introduction of synthetic materials, traditional mountaineering boots were constructed entirely from heavy leather. These boots had leather as the primary material for both the upper and sole of the shoe. It was not until almost 1840, when a self-taught chemist developed a revolutionary process to harden latex, that the make of early climbing footwear began to change.
Charles Goodyear and Vibram Carrarmato: The start of rubber-soled climbing shoes
In 1839, Charles Goodyear (whom Goodyear Tires was named after) fortuitously discovered that the combination of natural rubber and sulphur over heat could improve the consistency of rubber (Goodyear Footwear, n.d.). This process, which was later termed vulcanisation, increases the tensile strength, hardness and weather resistance of natural rubber (Nair & Joseph, 2014). Vulcanised rubber later became a popular material for the construction of shoe soles as these properties could increase durability of shoes. A while later, in 1937, Vitale Bramani with partner Pirelli Tires developed the Vibram Carrarmato rubber lug sole which pioneered rubber-soled climbing shoes (Vibram, n.d.).
Boreal Fire: Synthesised rubber, specialised for rock climbing
While the discovery of vulcanised rubber and the development of the Vibram Carrarmato surely transformed the build and performance of traditional mountaineering shoes, outdoor footwear companies were still determined to produce rubber soles that could be even more adapted to rock climbing. A company called Boreal embarked on a R&D program in the 1970s to synthesise a rubber compound specifically for rock climbing shoes that would provide “unmatched friction” to improve performance (Borealm, n.d.). In 1979, the Boreal Fire was launched, a model symbolic of the transition to the modern day rock climbing shoe.
Environmental pollution in modern day rock climbing shoes?
Over recent years, further R&D by companies has led to the introduction of more synthetic leather and rubber materials, allowing rock climbers to fully customise the fit of their shoes according to their performance needs. The leather and rubber industries are known to contribute to a substantial amount of environmental damage along their value chains if not sustainably managed. The leather production process not only generates large amounts of wastewater, solid waste and VOCs, but also involves highly toxic chemicals such as phthalates and chromium (Sivaram & Barik, 2019). Similarly, the processing of rubber discharges highly polluted wastewater and involves chemical additives like vulcanising agents (Das et al., 2016).
Given how quickly climbers can wear out their shoes and the growing popularity of rock climbing worldwide, is this a cause for concern? Stick around for the subsequent posts where we’ll dive a little deeper into production of rock climbing leather and rubber, and find out the real cost of our rock climbing shoes.
References
Boreal. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from https://www.borealoutdoor.com/about-us/history#:~:text=In%201979%20Boreal%20designed%20and,at%20Riglos%20in%20Huesca%2C%20Spain.
Das, D., Saha, A., & Bhattacharjee, H. (2016). Rubber processing is detrimental to environment: a case study. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research 7 (7), 369-376.
Goodyear Footwear. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from https://goodyearfootwear.com/history/
Nair, A. B., & Joseph, R. (2014). Eco-friendly bio-composites using natural rubber (NR) matrices and natural fiber reinforcements. In Chemistry, manufacture and applications of natural rubber (pp. 249-283). Woodhead Publishing.
Sivaram, N. M., & Barik, D. (2019). Toxic waste from leather industries. In Energy from toxic organic waste for heat and power generation (pp. 55-67). Woodhead Publishing.
Vibram. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from https://ca.vibram.com/company/about/history/
Zhu, B., Chen, R. & Li, Y. (2021, August). The Origin and Early Evolution of Rock Climbing. In 2021 5th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2021) (pp. 662-667). Atlantis Press
