When it comes to athletic performance, sometimes less is more, and lighter equipment can provide a competitive advantage.
That is often true when it comes to sustainability; if you use less raw and synthetic materials, particularly ones that are brand new, your products will have less of an impact on the environment. In sport, however, the priority is execution, and, if you’re going with a sustainable shoe, you still want to give an athlete a competitive edge so they can perform at their peak physical abilities.
Hylo’s goal is to do just that, by providing sustainably-made footwear with legitimate athletic credibility. The materials used are all-natural and consist of seven elements—corn fiber, organic cotton, castor bean oil, algae bloom, corn scratch, natural rubber, and water-based glue. When the shoes reach their end-of-life, Hylo turns the fabrics into compost, and the rubber gets ground up to make new shoes.
The cardboard packaging is both functional and simplistic, left mostly unadorned save for some copy and a blue panel, which matches the lightning bolt logo. The box tears open, and the inside comes designed to safely straddle each shoe without having to add additional packing materials.
One of the core qualities of Hylo is minimalism, from the shoe designs and their 215-gram weight to the limited number of materials that make up the shoe and its packaging. In a way, it is synonymous with sport, pushing maximum efficiency and performance with as little trade-off as possible. The brand name even found inspiration in the hardy and beautiful Hylotelephium, a succulent with a reputation for requiring little more than sun and drainage. It thrives where many other plants will not, essentially making it a high performer requiring very little of its environment.
A big part of any sports shoe brand is having a roster of athletes that not only excel at their discipline but also are reflective of the company’s goals and values. Hylo’s group of spokespersons come from all over the sporting world, but the one thing they have in common is they’re young, rising stars, such as Leeds footballer Patrick Bamford, sprinter Alicia Regis, superwelterweight George Davey, golfer Charley Hull, rugby union lock Jon Kpoku, and cricket bowler Sophie Ecclestone.
Hylo itself features an all-star team, which includes sustainable entrepreneur Jacob Green, Asics’ ex-head of production John Prescott, footballer Michael Doughty, and London-based agency Otherway. Each brings relevant experience and expertise in design, manufacturing, branding, sustainability, and sports.
Hylo shoes are available now directly at HyloAthletics.com.
