Enter the Woo-Lace
‘Reducing our footprint, one shoelace at a time’ is the concept behind the Woo-Lace, a biodegradable woollen shoelace designed by AUT student Jacob Smith.
The laces are made from strong wool - a New Zealand-produced fibre that won't break down into microplastics at the end of its life.
This means that unlike regular laces – that are commonly made from materials like polyester or nylon, which can take hundreds of years to decompose – Woo-Laces can be thrown in your compost at home when you’re done with them, Jacob says.
“The laces are also naturally durable and odour resistant, plus they have the added advantage of not coming untied like synthetic laces tend to, so you probably won’t want to throw them out anyway,” he says.
A self-confessed sneakerhead, Jacob’s always on the lookout for a good lace.
The Third Year Bachelor of Design student, who majors in Industrial Design, developed the laces in AUT’s Strong Wool Studio paper.
The paper asked students to design a product using strong wool, a locally produced fibre traditionally used in carpets, rugs and upholstery, that often goes to waste due to its low market price compared to soft wools like merino.
As well as being biodegradable and made from sustainably sourced strong wool from Palliser Ridge Farm in the Wairarapa, the laces are dyed using food waste like onion and avocado skins and coffee grounds.
Smith says that while the Woo-Lace mimics the essence of a traditional shoelace, its manufacture by knitting machine and the nature of the wool has allowed him to play with the laces’ strength, stretch, feel and aesthetic.
AUT School of Art & Design’s Strong Wool Studio paper is run by Dr Jyoti Kalyanji and Dan Collings and is supported by partners from the New Zealand wool industry, including Palliser Ridge Farm.