#EcoWithAttitude: Interview with James Shorrock of Lane Eight

James Shorrock holding invisible bag in front of the LANE EIGHT store

You need not be professional athletes to enjoy sports, the same way goes for owning your eco-lifestyle — not only environmental advocates, eco with attitude is for everyone! In ISSUE 05, we talk to James Shorrock, the co-founder of the planet-friendly shoe brand, LANE EIGHT, who shares about their own way of realising Sustainability from an athletic perspective.

"Sustainability is like a fitness journey. You have to start & keep consistent. "

James Shorrock is holding an invisible bag mailer in front of the Lane Eight store

James Shorrock, the co-founder of Lane Eight

#1 What are the recent changes that you have made to practice sustainability?

Being a father with a 13-month-old baby, we are much more mindful now. Scientists (have) found microplastics in human blood already, and babies like to put everything in their mouths. We want to minimize the plastic that we use and potentially that baby will interact with.

#2 What is the sustainability culture like in LANE EIGHT?

The ideas for all of our initiatives are really a team effort. For example, our St. Francis Street shop used to be our office and retail shop. Our team didn’t want to buy bottled water, so we knew we had to find a filtered water system that everyone could use.

Water refilling station in Lane Eight store

Well, the water-refilling machine inside the Lane Eight store in Wanchai

We found this company Urban Spring, and liked the fact that their water fountains would allow us to track how many single-use bottles we’ve avoided, and that it would be accessible not just for our team, but all of our visitors and the wider neighbourhood. It’s important to us that our shop isn’t just a place to spend money, but also a a communal space for our community to come hang-out.

We’re also active in doing clean-ups at our favourite beaches and trails. The first company cleanup was in Shek O, and our team really enjoyed it. The fact that you can see the impact you’re making firsthand is really important. When the impacts of your actions become tangible, that’s when the real magic happens.

Lane Eight company clean up using #INVISIBLEBAG

Lane Eight's Company Hike Clean Up

#3 What are your considerations for shipping packaging?

We work so hard to reduce the impact of our shoes, and it would be a shame to let that down by then shipping out every pair in a plastic mailer bag that will end up in the landfill. From inside to outside, LANE EIGHT is delivering eco-friendly materials and products to consumers.

#4 Why #INVISIBLEBAG for LANE EIGHT?

When we found out about #INVISIBLEBAG, it was an obvious choice. The packaging costs a bit more than traditional packaging, but as the brand owners, we knew it was important to make this work. It's an investment in our future. Our next steps will be sharing how the bags work - it’s pretty impressive seeing the bag dissolve in water and not leaving any waste behind.

Lane Eight shipping their products in #INVISIBLEBLAG mailer

Lane Eight is now shipping their sneakers in #INVISIBLEBAG mailers

#5 What motivates you to advocate sustainable workout shoes every day?

We are a small company, but we want to show that even for a company of our size, it’s possible to create great products responsibly. By creating shoes that are built for performance, look great, and incorporate recycled and natural materials, we’re showing that sustainability doesn’t have to come at the expense of making shoes functional and stylish.

James Shorrock holding a Lane Eight sneaker

Jame Shorrock is holding a pair of LANE EIGHT HIIT Trainer

#6 How did LANE EIGHT come?

Our father is a serious runner, and also we grew up learning about the world of track and field. In track events, you have 8 lanes, and for participants starting in the 8th lane, you have to focus on running your own race and not look back at the competitors in the other lanes. This mindset really resonated with us as a new performance brand looking to do things different and in our own way, so the name LANE EIGHT was a natural fit.