It is always nice to see a Croatian success story growing stage by stage.
It is now over two years since I first came across two very cool brothers from Duga Resa, making an even cooler product – innovate eco-sneakers for their MIRET brand. Having been raised in the shoe industry, which produces over 20 billion shoes a year, Hrvoje and Domagoj Boljar wanted to produce a more sustainable product for the industry.
Progress has been gradual, but as we reported in a feature on the MIRET brothers a few weeks ago, MIRET has recently launched its new range of eco sneakers, 97% of which are made from natural products. Read more in With 20 BILLION New Shoes a Year, Meet MIRET’s 97% Natural Eco Sneakers Collection.
And the word is getting out. I am thrilled for Hrvoje and Domagoj at their latest recognition, as MIRET eco sneakers won the Gold Award in the category of Sustainable Fashion at the 14th International IDA Awards – The International Design Awards 2020.
“This award is a wonderful recognition for the years Hrvoje has spent researching, testing and developing natural materials to create a truly ecological sneaker. We are especially pleased that we received recognition for our work in 2020, in which sustainable fashion is recognized as a global movement.”
“Winning the gold award in this category gives us great encouragement to continue on our path and to be the leaders of the sustainability movement.” said Domagoj Boljar, co-founder of MIRET.
About IDA – The International Design Awards:
The IDA International Design Award exists to recognize and promote visionaries in design and discover new talents in the categories of architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design and fashion design.
IDA was founded in 2007 in the USA, and every year it promotes and awards the best designers around the world. IDA aims to promote and reward visionaries in the field of design and discovering new talents in the categories of architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design and fashion design.
More about MIRET from the IDA entry description:
We are MIRET and we have combined the strongest natural fibres to craft sneakers which are kind to your feet as much as they are kind to nature. Not only can they substitute synthetic materials, but in many ways they are far better than plastic. We are using 10 amazing plants: hemp, kenaf, linen, cork tree, wood, corn, jute, eucalyptus, rubber tree and New Zealand wool to craft our 97% ecological MIRET sneakers. We are industry insiders who have used our manufacturing expertise to redesigned sneakers from the bottom up, making them compatible with nature.
For the latest in Croatian excellence and innovation, check out the TCN Made in Croatia section.
