In episode 96 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Bernardo Carreira, Founder of 8000 Kicks, on creating a new category of functional sustainable footwear using cannabis hemp fibers.

Bernardo, the co-founder, moved back to Portugal in 2017 to start a new project, but he didn’t know exactly what it would be. One night, after a few beers and joints with the boys, someone came up with the idea of making a shoe for smoking. It was probably an awful idea, or maybe not.

Bernardo decided to give it a shot since he had seen some bags and wallets made of cannabis fibers before. He asked the most unlikely person for help: Otilia, his grandmother, with over 50 years’ experience in textiles.

Together, they spent over 1 year actively working with suppliers from around the world until what is now the World’s 1st waterproof hemp shoe, a whole new category into functional sustainable footwear.

Hemp is the “sober cousin” of marijuana. It has a minimal amount of psychoactive components, and for that reason it is legal everywhere in the world.

Features of the sneakers:

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