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In a world of disposable, fast fashion trends, Red Wing Heritage is making an effort to encourage customers to keep their boots for years to later be passed on the next generation of wearers by offering tiny wills to be stitched into boot tongues.
Launching on Oct. 2 as part of the brand’s “Will Your Wings” campaign, a tiny will with “Worn By” and “Left To” fields can be stitched into customers’ boot tongues, as a space to designate who will be next heir to the ever-reliable shoe.
Customers will receive a free Will Your Wings tag in-store or with any purchase online. Global flagship stores in Tokyo, Paris and Red Wing, Minn., as well as select retail stores around the world including Philadelphia, Austin and Toronto will also be hosting stitching events for customers to have their Will Your Wings tags sewn in on-site by store associates.
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“That’s what Will Your Wings is all about,” the company states. “Cherishing family heirlooms, giving great product the fullest and longest life cycle possible, and celebrating the personal stories and years of artful patina created with each pair of Red Wing boots.”
Similar as the company’s Out of Fashion campaign, Red Wing’s Will Your Wings celebrates a commitment to high-quality, handcrafted product that’s built to last and gets even better the more you wear it. As part of that commitment, Red Wing’s repair shop in Minnesota refreshes, re-soles and reconditions upwards of 40,000 boots each year, ultimately diverting 54 tons from landfills.
Red Wing shared that over the years, several customers have shared their stories about their boots being handed down over 50+ years, with some even “willing their Wings” back to the company after years of love and wear to be retired in the corporate archives.
The statement from the company about the campaign says that in a single year, the average American throws away 81.5 pounds of clothing and shoes, which amounts to an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste across the country annually.
