Everything the scan holds on this record, grouped by subject. Blue bars show how much information is held; they are not positive or negative scores. Fields with nothing behind them are counted, not listed.
Features
3 of 5
Feature 1
Orba Shoes makes the plant-based unisex Ghost sneaker, whose upper is a four-ply laminate of flax canvas, kenaf and hemp liner and ramie backing hand-woven by master weavers on traditional looms. The Orba sole is a proprietary bio-rubber compound made from natural rubber, rice husk and coconut oil that the materials page states is over 93% plant-based, while the footbed layers cork, coir, agave sisal and latex. Homepage copy describes the Ghost as over 95% plant-based materials with a 95%+ bio-based sole, and the shoe uses GOTS-certified organic cotton laces, threads and labels.
Feature 2
Orba Shoes states its footwear is designed in New Zealand and crafted from highly renewable plant-based materials, though no manufacturing country is named on the site. Supply-chain oversight at Orba runs through a key supplier that meets the Business Social Compliance Initiative code of conduct, with smaller suppliers being funded toward future BSCI compliance under an Orba Supplier Code of Conduct covering no discrimination, fair remuneration and decent work hours.
Feature 3
Orba Shoes markets the Ghost as plastic-free and made from nature and biodegradable materials, with no petroleum-based synthetics and only water-based rather than solvent adhesives. The plant-based Orba shoe carries a verified carbon footprint of 7.8 kg CO2-equivalent, which the brand states is around 45% lower than a synthetic running shoe and around 65% lower than leather, and its bio-plastic heel counter is certified to fulfil the biodegradability requirements of EN 13432 and ASTM D 6400.
Materials and composition
14 of 29
H3 Q8: Materials (adapts to brand: 100% cotton? / where is the linen from? / hemp?)
Is Orba Shoes 100% cotton?
Plant fibre %
100
Fibre Breakdown
4 (100.0%) no stated composition
Fibre Breakdown (table)
FibreStyles%Measureno stated composition4100.0%Unclear
Other materials: origin
Upper: flax, ramie and kenaf; sole: natural rubber, rice husk ash, coconut oil, beeswax and pine resin; footbed: cork, coir and agave sisal. Countries/farms of origin for these materials are NOT disclosed. Sole is USDA-certified 95% bio-based.
Products with no fibre list
4
Incomplete composition explanation
No incomplete percentage compositions were recorded.
Plant fibre percent
100
Key facts plant materials
Cotton, Linen, Hemp, Ramie
Key facts animal materials
None
Key facts chemical materials
None
Key facts organic materials
Organic Cotton, Organic Hemp
Key facts synthetic materials
None
Materials used
Cotton, Hemp
Scan result
12 of 56
Scan note (above product table)
NOT ASSESSED from saved CSV: 0 of 4 in-scope rows classified (0.0% coverage); possible fully plant-SKU range 0.0-100.0% can change the score band. No score is published.
Total styles scanned
4
Last scanned
2026-08-04
Score CSS class
htt-score-5
Supply-chain summary
Orba Shoes, a New Zealand certified B Corp, says its sneakers are made in a BSCI-certified footwear factory in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia that has operated since 1990. Orba lists its plant materials (flax, ramie and kenaf uppers; natural-rubber and rice-husk-ash soles; cork, coir and agave sisal footbeds) and states its sole is USDA-certified 95% bio-based, but it does not disclose the countries or farms these materials come from. Orba says its material suppliers are independently GOTS or Fair Trade certified and transparent about raw materials, yet it names none of them and publishes no supplier list.
Sourcing transparency score (1-5)
3
Why no score
Not enough evidence to score: fewer than 20 scoreable textile products were found. No brand-wide textile score is published because only 0 scoreable textile SKUs were found. The Throne Standard requires at least 20. Technical scan coverage: 100.0%. Throne successfully reached a definite readable outcome for 4 of 4 identified eligible textile products. 0 products were left as a technical read failure, not counted as brand non-disclosure. Composition/material disclosure: 0.0%. 0 of 4 readable eligible textile products published enough material information to classify. 4 readable products did not.
Full catalogue scan?
no
Publication status
not_assessed
Method version
Throne Standard direct CSV recalculation 2026.09
Best-case complete result (%)
100
Key findings
Materials: Cotton, Hemp
Made in: Orba Shoes are designed in New Zealand and manufactured in Indonesia
Certifications: Orba Shoes is a Certified B Corporation, certified 28 February 2022 via B Lab Australia & New Zealand and listed in the official B Lab Global directory (reported B Impact score of 98
Health and safety
1 of 3
H3 Q6: Is [Brand] non-toxic / PFAS-free?
Is Orba Shoes non-toxic and safe for skin?
Certification
5 of 8
H3 Q7: Is [Brand] GOTS / certified?
Is Orba Shoes certified?
OEKO-TEX® Standard 100
Orba Shoes is not OEKO-TEX certified as a company, but its fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.
Other Certifications
Orba Shoes is B Corp certified, achieving certification in December 2021, and the plant-based Ghost sneaker is a USDA Certified Biobased Product at 95%.
Factory certifications
BSCI-certified factory; Orba is a certified B Corp (New Zealand brand)
Key facts certifications
Orba Shoes is a Certified B Corporation, certified 28 February 2022 via B Lab Australia & New Zealand and listed in the official B Lab Global directory (reported B Impact score of 98.9). Component-level certifications stated on Orba's materials page: GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton for the laces and threads;
Sourcing and supply chain
16 of 62
PFAS source
Overall: where this info comes from
Traceability level
Cotton: country of origin
Wool: origin + farm + mulesing status
Ownership and legal entity
2 of 17
Owner
Greg Howard is the owner of Orba Shoes.
Identity
19 of 28
Brand name
Orba Shoes
H3 Q1: Is [Brand] sustainable / ethical?
Is Orba Shoes sustainable and ethical?
Answer 1
DOCUMENTED FACTS: Orba is a Certified B Corporation (B Lab, certified Feb 2022); GOTS-certified cotton laces/threads, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 aglets, and EN 13432/ASTM D 6400 certified biodegradable heel counter are stated on the brand's materials page; its key supplier meets the BSCI code of conduct; and Orba funds International Labour Organisation (ILO)-designed training programmes for smaller, no
H3 Q2: Where is [Brand] made?
Where is Orba Shoes made?
Answer 2
Orba Shoes are designed in New Zealand and manufactured in Indonesia. Multiple independent and brand sources state Orba works with a network of small Indonesian suppliers, including family-run traditional flax weavers, a natural plant-based dyer, a bio-sole (outsole) manufacturer and a main assembly factory; several press sources describe the uppers as hand-woven in Bali using traditional looms. Orba states its key supplier meets the international Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) code of conduct. A specific factory name/city was not publicly documented in the sources reviewed.
H3 Q3: Who owns [Brand]?
Who owns Orba Shoes?
Answer 3
Orba Shoes is an independent New Zealand footwear start-up based on the Kāpiti Coast (Paraparaumu/Waikanae), Aotearoa New Zealand, with no parent company documented. It was co-founded around 2020 by Kāpiti-based entrepreneur Greg Howard and UK-born, Bali-based footwear veteran Marshall Westlake, who together developed the plant-based sneaker during the 2020 lockdown period; sustainability advisor Gillian Boucher joined as co-founder in mid-2020. The company's own team page lists five co-founders: Gillian Boucher, Marshall Westlake, Greg Howard, Scott Anderson and Sam Marshall. Orba launched its flagship "Ghost" sneaker in September 2021.
H3 Q4: Is [Brand] legit / worth it?
Is Orba Shoes legit and worth it?
Answer 4
Orba Shoes is a real, currently-trading, legitimate business. As of July 2026 its official store (orbashoes.eco) is live and actively selling sneakers (Ghost models around $149.50 NZD plus Development Edition offers), with working cart/checkout, multiple payment methods, a contact phone/email, active social media, recent 2025-dated promotions, and recent blog/journal content. It is a real footwear company (not to be confused with same-name entities in other industries) and is verified via the independent B Lab directory, PitchBook, LinkedIn and multiple NZ news outlets (NZ Herald, RNZ, Otago Daily Times, The Spinoff, NBR). Note: the NBR headline "here for a good time, not a long time" refers to the shoe's biodegradable end-of-life design philosophy, not to the company folding.
H3 Q5: Is [Brand] fast fashion?
Is Orba Shoes fast fashion?
Answer 5
Orba Shoes is a slow-fashion, small-batch sustainable brand, not fast fashion. It sells a very narrow range (essentially one core "Ghost" sneaker model in limited colourways) rather than high-volume seasonal drops, took nearly five years of R&D to develop the biodegradable materials system, and works with small traditional Indonesian weavers/dyers. Its entire positioning is around durability-in-use plus end-of-life biodegradation rather than disposable trend-driven volume.
Answer 6
Certifications: Orba Shoes is a Certified B Corporation, certified 28 February 2022 via B Lab Australia & New Zealand and listed in the official B Lab Global directory (reported B Impact score of 98.9). Component-level certifications stated on Orba's materials page: GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton for the laces and threads; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification for the cellulose acetate aglets (lace tips); and the bioplastic heel counter certified to the biodegradability requirements of EN 13432 and ASTM D 6400. Orba's key supplier is BSCI-compliant. Orba does NOT hold a whole-product GOTS, Fair Trade, European Flax or full-compostability certification; the brand explicitly states full compostability certification is a future goal, not a current achievement..
Answer 7
Orba Shoes holds the following certifications: Orba Shoes is a Certified B Corporation, certified 28 February 2022 via B Lab Australia & New Zealand and listed in the official B Lab Global directory (reported B Impact score of 98. Beyond any paper certification, our scan of 4 Orba Shoes styles found 100.0% is 100% plant fibre, which is the measurable material fact behind Orba Shoes's claims.
Methodology note (page footer)
How we scan. Every figure on this page comes from the Throne Standard scan: we read the fibre composition off each live product on the brand's own site, style by style, and count only single-fibre plant cloth (cotton, linen, hemp) as natural. Animal fibres such as wool, silk and cashmere and plastic-based synthetics such as polyester, nylon and elastane sit outside the plant-fibre figure, and regenerated fibres such as viscose, bamboo, modal and Tencel are counted as semi-synthetic. Percentages are calculated over the styles that state a composition; anything unlabelled is shown separately.
Answer 8
So many Orba Shoes basics are pure cotton, but Orba Shoes's fitted and active styles typically add a small share of synthetic.
Contact Email
hello@orbashoes.eco
Cotton: named farm / region / co-op
Not applicable
Dye house: name + country
Not disclosed (Indonesian dyeing supplier in ILO training programme, unnamed)
Brand site readable
yes
Recycled and circular
1 of 2
Energy, water and land
1 of 2
Claims and evidence
8 of 17
Verified by
HTT research (brand policy pages)
Verification status
What this means
Excluded items
Why excluded
Excluded items
Place and access
1 of 1
Location
Orba Shoes are located in New Zealand.
Delivery and shipping
3 of 3
Shipping
Orba Shoes aims to dispatch orders within 24 hours, or 48 hours when placed over the weekend or on public holidays, and the brand offers free returns within New Zealand on its plant-based sneakers.
Shipping International
Deliveries of Orba footwear shipped from New Zealand may be subject to local fees or taxes, for which the recipient is responsible.
Shipping Notes
A 30-day home try-on applies to Orba Shoes with one free exchange or a full refund, and further exchanges of the plant-based sneakers are charged one freight and handling fee.
Price and commerce
1 of 8
Price tier
$$
Further detail
21 of 67
Excerpt
Is Orba Shoes a sustainable clothing brand? See the real fibre breakdown, plant, animal or synthetic, before you buy.
Country
New Zealand
POC
Orba Shoes clothing brand ownership is not identified as people of colour.
LGBT
Orba Shoes was founded in 2020 by Greg Howard and Gillian Boucher.
Woman Owned
Orba Shoes clothing brand is not a woman owned clothing brand.
GOTS
Orba Shoes is not GOTS certified as a company. It states only that its cotton laces, threads and labels use GOTS certified organic cotton. Orba is not listed in the official GOTS public database (checked 14 August 2026) and names no GOTS certified supplier, so the claim is brand stated only.
1% for the planet
Orba Shoes clothing brand is not a member of 1% for the Planet.
Vegan
Orba Shoes clothing brand is a vegan clothing brand.
Report Post
61234
Clean & Safe: last checked
2026-07-29
Supplier disclosure
None
Products found
5
Last checked
2026-09-26
Products in catalogue
4
Products read
4
Catalogue read %
100
How it was read
Throne identifies the eligible textile products in Orba Shoes's catalogue, inspects each product for published material evidence and requires at least 20 scoreable textile SKUs before publishing a brand score. The score uses only products with enough published material information to classify. Brand non-disclosure and technical read failures are reported separately. Non-textile products are excluded rather than counted as a pass or a fail.
Website check
page identifies as Orba Shoes (checked 2026-08-18)
Coverage method pre dash fix
Every product listed in the brand's live catalogue is retrieved and its stated fibre composition read individually - from the product page, the store's own product data and its material labels. A fibre percentage is published only when 100% of the catalogue has been read. Items with no clothing textile (gift cards, packaging, jewellery, homeware) are excluded from the percentage rather than counted as a pass or a fail.
