n-o-r-a-by-simone-gronchi-design

The founder is the shoe designer Simone Gronchi. With his eponymous design studio, he designed shoes for renowned fashion houses for over 30 years. However, he and his team repeatedly questioned sustainability in the shoe industry.

Why is sustainability not being implemented consistently? We couldn't find an answer and decided to take matters into our own hands.

It was his Business Development Manager Petra who gave the impetus to start N.O.R.A.. After a market survey, it became clear to them that there were no really sustainable shoes to be found in the conventional shoe market, but that there were definitely good approaches from individual manufacturers.

Simone Gronchi the founder of N.O.R.A.

For Simone, it was important to offer a product that meets the highest standards in terms of sustainability, quality and style. The result should be a shoe that can be recycled without harming the environment. These standards are also reflected in the name. N.O.R.A. is the acronym of four words: Neoartisanal, Organic, Recyclable, Authentic.

The production of N.O.R.A. in a local traditional family businesses in Tuscany

The materials used are 95 percent organic and come 100 percent from sustainable production with transparent and certified tracking. The consistent use of organic materials makes it possible to fully recycle the shoes. The shoes are produced in local traditional family businesses in Tuscany within a radius of 40 km - all manufactories with which Simone Gronchi has already worked closely for many years. For the vegan shoes, Desserto, a cactus leather from Mexico, is used.

It irritates me when we have discussions about the sustainability of leather. The leather we use comes from the meat industry. It's a leftover product that is treated and dyed organically and sustainably, and when it's recycled, it doesn't harm the environment. Compared to that, some vegan products that are not made with sustainable polyurethanes are much more harmful to the environment.

For the future, Simone would like to see more scientific research and innovations developed in the area of sustainability. Together with the manufacturers of the components and the production sites, he would like to reach an even higher level. Because sustainably produced shoes should be the standard in the future.