VMS Srl (https://vms-luxurysoles.com/), an important company active in the production of innovative soles for the luxury sector, has obtained the Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certification for:

a. POLIREC, a compound based on polyurethane containing a variable percentage from 20 to 50% of recycled material from production waste;

b. soles and insoles obtained using the POLIREC itself.

The patented POLIREC technology (https://vms-luxurysoles.com/sostenibilita/) allows the recovery of defective soles made of polyurethane (PU) or a combination of PU and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The process first involves the separation of the different components through a preliminary process that includes sorting by color followed by grinding and gravimetric separation.

The recovered polyurethane is subsequently subjected to cryogenic grinding that allows it to be transformed into a powder with a particle size of a few microns which, when used in a percentage from 20 to 50% together with the virgin PU in the sole production process, behaves as an inert material and is evenly distributed in the compound. In this way, as confirmed by performance evaluation tests conducted by the “Ugo Schiff” Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence, the filler obtained from the recovered material is homogeneously distributed in the virgin PU and the density of the product obtained shows minimal variations so as not to alter the physical and mechanical properties of the soles.

The innovation introduced by VMS constitutes an important sustainability initiative consistent with the principles and objectives of the circular economy that are increasingly relevant in the development of the footwear market.

ORIENTA has supported VMS in the certification process which also included the recognition of the eligibility of VMS’s own production waste and its closed-cycle collection, selection and recycling system that allows the company to minimize the waste of virgin materials and, through the significant improvement of the degree of circularity of its material flows, to reduce the demand for natural capital.