Solar-powered boots!

By LFTO Gear Team

Gear news

23 January 2008 08:21

Okay, so the boots themselves aren’t rigged with a sneaky sunshine-powered battery to get you up the hills quicker, but Grisport’s footwear will soon be the greenest on the market, thanks to the sun.

Over 10,000 solar panels are currently being installed at the company’s factory in the Dolomite region of Italy, and it’s hoped that the first sunshine-powered boots will be on sale by the end of the summer.

In fact, within 10 years the whole factory will be electricity-free if all goes to plan. The company claims the panels will produce 1.4 megawatts of energy, the equivalent of which, if generated by traditional resources such as coal and oil, would result in 48 tonnes of toxic waste being created and 1,000 tonnes of CO2 released into the air.

Protecting the environment

Martin Rye, director of Grisport’s UK distributor GRS Footwear, says, “There’s no-one else in the outdoor shoe market that uses solar power to produce all their products.

“We really feel that this decision to convert to sustainable energy will make Grisport boots even more attractive to a market sector that loves the countryside and is keen to support those working to protect and safeguard that environment.”

Go to www.grs-footwear.co.uk to check out Grisport’s stylish new Spring/Summer range, including the sturdy Edge model and the striking pink Typhoon boot (below).