Called Re:Ground, the shoes came about after the CEO of Nespresso, Guillaume Le Cunff, came across Zèta on LinkedIn in January 2021, Laure Babin, founder of Zèta, tells Global Coffee Report. “He was intrigued by our approach, as recycled, vegan and grape trainers (one of Zèta’s original upcycled products) are not very common,” Babin says. “Guillaume sent a direct message with a challenge: ‘Bravo for the grape trainers, but what about coffee?’”
Because there were no coffee leathers on the market, Zèta collaborated with Portugal’s Tintex Textiles, which created a material that could be made into sneakers.
The shoes are made from 80% recycled or upcycled materials and contain the coffee grounds equivalent to 12 espressos. They are priced at US$166 but are only available in Europe.