SCARPA Mojito Bio Shoe

RRP £140 Target price £110

Until now, you had two choices of fabric when it came to walking shoes. Synthetic, which invariably uses materials derived from fossil fuels. Or commercial leather, which, animal ethics aside, uses huge amounts of water, energy and chemicals, most commonly chromium, to turn skin to workable hide. But now, Scarpa have come up with a third option: a fully biodegradable, plant-based shoe.

The sole is made from natural rubber and EVA foam derived from sugar cane; the upper from bamboo-derived yarn. The glues used in its construction are water-based and other components vegetable-based. So when this shoe reaches the end of its life, it should leave nothing behind. I wish I could test that part, perhaps burying it in compost and coming back in a year or two, but at this stage I can only really comment on the middle of its life. In terms of performance, the Mojito Bio is a perfect Alpine shoe: light, flexible and brilliant for dry trails. There’s no waterproof membrane so water seeps in if you so much as brush past a bog, but it drains out quickly too. I (somewhat ambitiously) wore them up Tryfan in March where they got soaked through in the first five minutes, but given a short time on dry rock, my feet felt comfortably warm and dry again. The mesh upper is very light so these are best for those who don’t want or need the more robust support of a stiff ankle boot, and/or for days when you know it’s going to be dry all day long. Overall, they’re great travel and trail shoes for the fleet of foot. SR scarpa.co.uk

WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

For soggy old Britain, a biodegradable waterproof membrane would be a great next step.