Aku Italia has been awarded the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification for one its products, the Bellamont Plus shoe. The EPD is a registered document that communicates comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products, based on the guidelines on environmental impact of the International EPD System. The Bellamont Plus is one of Aku's travel and urban outdoor shoes. The certification process for the shoe stretched over a 12-month period. The Bellamont Plus uses Zero Impact leather from Dani, a leather manufacturer based in Arzignano, in Italy's Northeast. Zero Impact leather is tanned without the use of heavy metals and chrome, as a result of a new tanning technology based on the use of enzymes and polysaccharides. According to Dani, the Zero Impact leather features the same mechanical and physical characteristics as leather processed using more typical and widespread production methods. The midsole and outsole of the Bellamont Plus shoe contain recycled material from rubber, the insole is made of coconut fiber and bamboo, and the laces are in natural cotton. The upper and sole of the shoe are made in the Aku factory in Cluj Napoca, Romania.
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