Stepping Towards Sustainability: Circular Hotel Slippers

During the recent Independent Hotel Show Amsterdam, Primal Soles emerged victorious in Pitch Live, a Dragon's Den-style pitching session showcasing new and innovative products for the hospitality industry. An expert panel selected this company for its groundbreaking and sustainable nature, along with its impressive presentation. We had the opportunity to interview David Even. He is one of the two brothers who founded this company that produces a new generation of hotel slippers.

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Primal Soles and how the company got started?

Primal Soles arose out of a desire to combine maximum comfort with minimal footprint. One of our most primal activities - walking, moving, exploring - was all being done in one way: by producing synthetic, non-recyclable footwear in a linear way and therefore with no regard for the end of product life cycle. Primal is the first company in the world that produces circular footwear that's made from natural Mediterranean cork. Cork is naturally regenerative - it's the bark of the cork oak tree that regenerates every nine years - and endlessly recyclable, giving us a raw material that is good for people and for the planet.

How can Primal Soles help hotels create unique and memorable experiences for their guests?

Primal Slippers are the world's first ever nature positive hotel slippers - and it's visible to anyone that sees them. Unlike the standard, white, synthetic hotel slippers that we all know and take for granted, Primal Slippers provide hotel guests with entirely different experiences in look, feel and story. Primal Slippers are primarily made of cork and upcycled cork giving them a natural color and a comfy, stable and soft touch on the feet. Where the guest experience is truly elevated is in the fact that the hotel can share their sustainability commitment by communicating the product life cycle of each slipper. Every slipper worn will not end up in landfill. Instead, they will get 100% recycled and reused as new bottom layers. Additionally, they are CO2 negative - meaning they sequester more CO2 out of the atmosphere than it costs to produce, ship and recycle them.

How does Primal Soles focus on sustainability align with the growing trend among hotels to prioritize eco-friendly practices and materials?

We should be very clear here in the difference between nature positive solutions and 'eco-friendly products'. Primal Slippers are nature positive, meaning that the more we consume and produce, the better it is for the planet. Eco-friendly products on the other hand, or rather foot haha, merely 'try' to reduce the negative rather than contributing to a positive balance for the planet. By using - and primarily marketing - 1% organic cotton, coconut fibers and whatnot, it does not take away the bottom line effect on the planet that those products still have a positive CO2 balance and without a doubt end up in landfill where they pollute our earth. Primal is not following a trend, rather, when we created Primal over two years ago it was to leave a positive nature balance at the end of our lifetime. Primal is merely the vehicle to achieve that vision, much like walking on nature positive footwear is a great reminder and first step towards living a more sustainable lifestyle.

The cost of Primal Soles will probably be a bit higher than the regular hotel slippers. Can this investment be justified?

Unfortunately, we live in an era where consuming and producing cheap products, such as synthetic single-use hotel slippers, is incentivized. We are slowly shifting this mindset but until then the cost of European grown, manufactured and recycled natural footwear will cost more than imported single-use plastic from the Far East. Although subsidies are slowly helping the shift, for now we - the producers - are cutting our margins to make this implementation a reality. The three main value propositions to hotel owners are simple: 1) Instantly measure, report and monetize sustainability KPIs in the forms of SDG 12 and SDG 13 (UN sustainable development goals). Secondly to gain access to Green Hotel Certifications; and last but not least to differentiate sustainability commitment through an elevated guest experience.

There are more brands that make amenities from recycled materials. What makes your brand different?

We are the first and only ones that are entirely circular. This means that we actually recycle our used product and reintroduce it into our production process for each new product. Nobody else takes responsibility over its entire product life cycle. Why? Because they don't have to. Nobody holds any company accountable for this. But then again, we are not just any company. Last year we won the Financial Times' top student-led project of 2023 with an impact on society and the environment at the SDG Tent in Davos during the World Economic Forum. Consequently, we were backed by the InTent Education Programme and the Hoffmann Family Foundation which has enabled us to partner with many like minded businesses as we continue to grow our impact. In February of this year we released our documentary on the intricate balance between nature and business called 'One Step at a Time' which can be viewed on the here.

Why did you choose Hunters Amenities to sell your product to hotels?

Hunter Amenities is a globally recognized, family-owned distributor of high quality hotel amenities that strives to be at the forefront of sustainability. Together with Hunter's dedicated team we have been prototyping and receiving first-hand market feedback from major hotels and slipper experts. This is how we were able to design a product that is not just circular but also fits exactly in terms of what the market expects from a hotel slipper. They are extremely comfortable, soft to the touch, and have a high friction coefficient making them ideal for spa areas.

What are your plans for the future?

Our goal has always been to leave our planet in a better state than how we entered it. Therefore, we will continue to grow our impact by reaching more hotels and in turn more consumers that will be exposed to our products - but especially to our circular mindset. We aim to inspire consumers, producers and specifically entrepreneurs to dare to be uncomfortable. In the end, the beautiful thing about how we set up Primal Soles is that the more products we put out into the world, the better it is for our planet. And so we will continue to replace synthetic single-use hotel slippers with fully circular, nature positive Primal Slippers - reducing our landfill waste and CO2 emissions with each step.

Learn more at Independent Hotel Show website