Sylven New York is an artisan women’s footwear brand that's focused on sustainability, craftsmanship, style and innovation. This vegan label combines a sustainable mindset with a passion for impeccable and purposeful shoe design.

Handmade in Italy, using a cutting-edge combination of nature-derived, renewable, and recyclable, materials, Sylven New York footwear lives at the nexus of luxury craftsmanship and sustainable innovation. The brand has been featured in Women's Wear Daily, VOGUE, Nylon and the Wall Street Journal, among others. It has also received a Global Excellence Award for Best Artisan Women's Footwear Brand in 2020.

About the Founder

Growing up, Casey Dworkin was enamoured with shoes and fashion. She was fittingly born on Earth Day, so you could say that championing the environment is in her blood. But it wasn’t until a fire ravaged through her New York City apartment that she felt called to launch her own brand. Losing all of her belongings enabled Casey to think about her relationship with material possessions in a new way. With a professional background in product design, Casey maintains an approach of creating timeless styles meant to be worn and loved for seasons to come.

“Sourcing new, sustainable innovations is a key part of our process, and we are actively looking to reinvent sustainable footwear from the inside out."

Materials

Sustainable materials are a pillar of the Sylven New York brand – the company imposes stringent guidelines with their suppliers to source plant-based, renewable, recyclable, and organic components across the entire supply chain. The brand's signature material is apple leather, made from organic apple waste in Italy. They also work with linings made from wheat and corn byproducts, insoles crafted from coconut husks, and vegan leathers derived from 100% recycled fibres. Every detail, from the 100% recycled rubber soles to the 100% recycled plastic heels and heel taps, is considered.

People

The brand personally audits their factories and suppliers, requiring active certifications from all of their partners. Sylven New York has also been actively involved in the #SupportGarmentWorkers and #PayUp campaigns to continue to fight for fair labour laws for garment workers across the globe.

Production

Sylven New York's production takes place in Tuscany, Italy. Over 90% of the materials and components used by the brand originate in Tuscany, allowing the company to keep transport emissions as low as possible during the production process. The brand prioritises waste reduction wherever possible, opting for closed-loop recycling systems to bring them as close to zero-waste production processes as possible.

Packaging

The brand uses 100% plastic-free packaging, as well as recycled and recyclable boxes, with paper tape. Each Sylven New York shoe is stuffed with recycled paper and comes with a recycled cotton dust bag. The company's warehouses are also instructed to be 100% plastic-free.

The company is currently in the process of spearheading a new packaging program where they will be using reusable shipping mailers made from recycled billboards. The packaging will also include a custom recipe card printed on plantable wildflower seed paper.

Animals

Sylven New York is transitioning to becoming fully vegan. With the dawn of new plant-based innovations, minimising leather use is finally within the brand's reach – and it is the number one thing they wish to do in order to reduce their carbon footprint.

To discover more like this, visit our vegan shoes and vegan boots collections.

Read more about ethical leather and how sustainable it is on our blog.

Love luxury and designer fashion? Check out our Luxury Vegan Bags & Shoes edit.

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