ekn footwear

Our “Planet” rating evaluates brands based on the environmental policies in their supply chains, from carbon emissions and wastewater to business models and product circularity. Here we rate ekn footwear “Great”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• It uses a medium proportion of lower-impact materials including recycled materials.
• To minimise waste, it limits its production runs.
• For leather tanning, it avoids the chemical-heavy chromium process, which mostly renders leather non-recyclable and non-biodegradable.
• There’s no evidence it’s taking meaningful action to reduce water use.

Workers’ rights are central to our “People” rating, which assess brands’ policies and practices on everything from child labour to living wages and gender equality. Here we rate ekn footwear “It’s a Start”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• Most of its final production stage happens in Portugal, a medium risk country for labour abuse.
• There's no evidence it has a Code of Conduct but it has a formal statement covering workers rights.
• It visits its suppliers but does not state how often.
• There’s no evidence it ensures workers are paid living wages in its supply chain.

Brands’ animal welfare policies and, where applicable, how well they trace their animal-derived products are the focus of our “Animals” rating. Here we rate ekn footwear “It’s a Start”. These are a few factors influencing its score:

• There’s no evidence it has an animal welfare policy.
• It appears to use leather, and wool.
• It doesn’t appear to use down, fur, angora, exotic animal skin, or exotic animal hair.

Based on all publicly available information we’ve reviewed, we rate ekn footwear “Good” overall.