EARTH.er was founded in 2012 by Hong Kong designer Benny Yuen. With humble
beginnings in Tai O, a fishing village located on the westernmost shore of
Hong Kong, Benny creates designs that are inspired by the outdoors, using
traditional Southeast Asian craft techniques and materials that are
environmentally friendly. Benny has travelled to many places in the world,
always on the look out for sustainable production processes that utilize
natural materials with which he is inspired by and incorporates into each
and every one of his designs. An example of such a design would be his
hemp backpacks and the line of ‘Down to EARTH.er’ shoes which embodies the
Earth as a brand in of itself. It is with the hope that those who wear
these shoes as they travel the Earth, truly appreciate all that the Earth
has given us, and it is Benny’s hope that with such an appreciation, we
choose to forsake those passing fashions and fads that pollute the planet.
It is EARTH.er’s intentions to become the foremost eco-fashion brand in
Hong Kong. Since its founding, EARTH.er has only used materials that are
from renewable sources and EARTH.er has strived to develop sustainable
practices in the making of its products. And even more than that, EARTH.er
donates a part of its revenues to the WORLD VISION to help with the raising of 12
children from less developed places on this planet. So It is hoped that
with each sale of an EARTH.er product that our customers also become a
parent to these kids.
# Down To Earth.er
We fully appreciate that the journey towards ecological sustainability is
a long one. So we sincerely hope that our Down To Earth.er shoes which are
made from old rubber tires, is a part of that journey. And even as more
and more people become aware of the increasing need for sustainable
lifestyles, we will continue to do our utmost to support such lifestyles
with our designs. Our journey begins in Hong Kong, and it is our fervent
wish that our message be brought to the four corners of our Planet.
# Upcycling Rubber Tires Into Shoes
We at Earth.er we feel that it is only appropriate that we walk on the
Earth’s surface with as little damage as possible. So in 2015, Benny took
a trip to Northern Thailand in search of village workshops and
craftspeople who would help him make shoes that used a natural hemp and
old rubber tires for the soles.
Used rubber tires are a major environmental issue, especially in Africa
and Southeast Asia where many countries do not have the means to dispose
of them. Most are discarded and disposed of in the countryside, the
jungles or just burnt in site. But these methods of disposal destroy the
environment with their leaching chemicals or poisonous fumes. Rubber tires
are hardy things and so it is our intention that we combine these with
hand crafted natural hemp to make our environmentally friendly shoes.
Another of our design considerations was to use as little cotton as
possible as cotton requires lots of land and enormous water resources in
order to cultivate and process into cloth. On the other hand, Hemp grows
readily in tough terrain and can be handcrafted with relative ease hence
also reducing the need for powered machinery. So our decision is to use hemp
in also an effort at mitigating such environmental effects. Such is our
design philosophy at Earth.er which we hope you will share in as well.
