Green Silence Glossary of Terms
BioEVA
Brooks took the same additive used to make Brooks’ BioMoGo midsoles biodegradable and added it to regular Ethylene Vinyl Acetate™ (EVA) to make BioEVA, a fully biodegradable sockliner foam; biodegradable materials break down completely to nutrients without leaving behind small pieces of plastic or other contaminants.
Gillies
Loops on the upper that laces are routed through as an alternative to eyelets; these can be made from webbing or other durable materials.
Non-toxic dyes and pigments
Colorants that include no heavy metals (lead, mercury, etc.) or other toxic chemicals such as phthalates, azo-dyes and disperse dyes.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Plastic used to make clear, disposable water bottles; PET can be recycled after use and converted back into the polyester textiles used in shoe upper meshes.
Post-consumer recycled (PCR) material
Any material made from other products after those original products have served their useful, intended life; examples would include turning newspapers into shoe boxes or disposable water bottles into shoe upper meshes.
Solvent-reduced overlay
Minimal use of VOCs during the manufacturing process when adding upper overlays.
Soy-based ink
Colorants made using non-food soybean oils rather than petroleum oils; the amounts of pigment and VOCs used in soy-based inks are also reduced due to the quality of soy oil.
VOC
Volatile organic compounds (or chemicals) that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to vaporize and enter the atmosphere; VOCs can have short- and long-term adverse health effects on humans and the environment.
Water-based adhesives (WBA)
Adhesives and primers—used to glue together shoe parts—that are made liquid using water as the solvent rather than toxic volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).
