George - A new era for GNL

With the new model George we welcome this year a very special model in the GNL family. George is the beginning of an evolution of GNL and the first collection that is 95% bio-based and recycled material and completely vegan. You can learn the most important things about George in this post.

The name George is a tribute to a pioneer who started the shoe sole revolution in the running shoe industry and now in regenerative health technology. However, this pioneer's real name is not George, but Jürg Braunschweiler and he is the founder and inventor of GNL. But why then the name George? When Jürg lived in the USA he was exclusively called George because nobody could pronounce his real name. The USA was also the place where Jürg had his eureka moment for the unique Glide'n Lock damping system.

With every product we set ourselves the goal to become even more sustainable. With George, we have taken a big step in this direction by working with recycled material that is 100% vegan. The upper is made from plastic and nylon waste from factories and a bio-based component made from non-food corn to give it its leather-like look and durable quality. The insole is made from algae and the outsole is made from recycled rubber. All materials except the midsole are GRS certified. You can discover the new collection here .

New to the George model, the thickness of the midsole has been increased to accommodate wearers who prefer more bounce and stability. Our patented Glide'n Lock sole technology remains untouched.

Almost all of our materials come from Europe. The only component not currently made in Europe is the outsole. The outsole is sourced from a producer in China that specializes in functional soles. The factory is state of the art and is regularly visited by us to ensure quality and above all fair working conditions. When GNL was founded, there was no producer in Europe that could have produced our sole technology, but now things are different. Eric, the CEO of GNL, recently visited the future sole producer in Italy and we are well on our way to having all materials produced in Europe in the foreseeable future.

The place where the shoes are produced is in Kazak in the Bulgarian mountains. The factory is a small family business that employs almost half of the population in Kazak. Besides GNL, other brands produce their shoes in Kasak and the shoe factory is an integral part of the community and a passion of the region that they are proud of.