In New Zealand, a design student at Auckland University of Technology has won a design award for biodegradable shoelaces made from an underutilized wool.
Jacob Smith’s “Woo-Lace” received the Silver Best Award for a Student & Academic Product in 2024. “The idea came about in an Auckland University of Technology project during my second year of industrial design. At the time I was running a business selling shoe accessories, and realized how unsustainable a lot of the products were. After exploring all the properties of wool I saw an opportunity to really explore shoelaces and create something better for the planet,” Smith tells Idealog.
Woo-Lace uses strong wool, a coarse and thicker wool fiber common in sheep breeds such as Romney. “The Woo-Lace uses this under-utilized material to create a shoelace that is completely biodegradable and made completely here in Aotearoa,” Smith says. The wool fibers also bind strongly, making accidental unties “almost impossible,” he adds.
Currently, Woo-Lace is available online in four colors, with Smith using only food waste-based dyes.