While humans have contributed countless innovations to make the world a better place, we still inherently create a lot of waste. With the creation of this trash, we’re putting harmful toxins into our water, air, and oceans.
To help combat this issue, Woolybubs, co-founded by Megan and Jesse Milliken, is a sustainable baby shoe brand giving parents an affordable and practical option to help reduce waste. Created on the insight that children grow out of their clothing so quickly, Wollybubs’ shoes are the first disappearing baby shoes of their kind.
The shoes get made using a polymer created from Polyvinylalcohol (PVOH), and, in the textile world, is any class of natural or synthetic substance. The biggest difference between this polymer and others is that the material is hydrophilic, which breaks down quickly in water without creating additional toxins or constructing microplastics, as conventional polymers would. Therefore, the shoes are durable enough for a baby but will disappear into a non-toxic and safe liquid once dropped in boiling water. Even if they don’t make it into a vat of bubbling liquids, they are still 100% biodegradable materials and will break down over time.
Co-founder Jesse Milliken designed the packaging and continued the brand’s mission to create less waste while saving space. One Woolybubs box (made from 100% post-consumer use corrugate) is about the size of two typical containers for children’s shoes. The tetrahedron box shape minimized the number of packaging materials, leading to less waste. Further, there is no shipping box, and the design focuses on a shoe box durable enough to serve as an outer carton.
Beyond continuing the sustainable mission throughout the design, the visual appearance of the box is ideal. The brown box and green typography represent the brand’s “green” aesthetic, while the no-frills approach conveys the brand’s mission to consumers.
Woolybubs is a brand working to combat our massive waste problem. By leaning into what consumers need and harnessing the power of innovative materials, the brand is taking the necessary steps to make waste disappear.
Woolybubs, co-founded by Megan and Jesse Milliken, is a sustainable baby shoe brand giving parents an affordable and practical option to help reduce waste
