50%Plant
By the numbers
The smart read on Orba Shoes
Fibre class
Recorded50%
of recorded textile styles are plant-fibre styles
Catalogue scanned
Listing data4 eligible styles recorded · 0 non-textile items excluded
Sourcing
transparency
Nonetransparency
3/5
Not disclosed
Orba Shoes composition
4 stylesPlant50%
Animal0%
Synthetic0%
Semi-synth0%
Unclassified50%
Every entry, recorded
Every recorded entry, with its finding
4 styles50% Plant2026-09-05 checked4 on record
Plant 50%Animal 0%Synthetic 0%Semi-synth 0%Unclassified 50%
4 styles
| # | Style | Stated composition | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Men's Ghost Sneaker | Upper: Flax Canvas, Kenaf | Plant |
| 002 | Women's Ghost Sneaker | Upper: Flax Canvas, Kenaf | Plant |
| 003 | Men's Ghost Sneaker - Development Edition - Black / Black | Same natural plant-fibre construction as the standard Ghost | Unclassified |
| 004 | Women's Ghost Sneaker - Development Edition - Black / Black | Same natural plant-fibre construction as the standard Ghost | Unclassified |
Instant fibre check
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Plant · natural
Animal
Synthetic
Semi-synthetic
Elastane
A stretch synthetic fibre, also called spandex or Lycra.
Not found in any of the 4 recorded styles. This describes the current listing record, not unscanned products.
Checked against all 4 recorded styles in this listing.
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Choose what you want to inspect in Orba Shoes’s record. This filters recorded findings; it does not assess clinical safety.
Recorded findings for Orba Shoes
Showing 4 of 4 recorded entries. Select a class to filter.
- Men's Ghost Sneaker · Upper: Flax Canvas, Kenaf
- Women's Ghost Sneaker · Upper: Flax Canvas, Kenaf
- Men's Ghost Sneaker - Development Edition - Black / Black · Same natural plant-fibre construction as the standard Ghost
- Women's Ghost Sneaker - Development Edition - Black / Black · Same natural plant-fibre construction as the standard Ghost
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The story
About Orba Shoes
Owner · Greg Howard is the owner of Orba Shoes.
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.
MaterialsOrba 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…
SourcingOrba 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…
End of lifeOrba 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…
Details
Brand NameOrba Shoes
CountryNew Zealand
Websitehttps://orbashoes.eco/
OwnerGreg Howard is the owner of Orba Shoes.
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/orbashoes/
Certifications
GOTSOrba 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.
VeganOrba Shoes clothing brand is a vegan clothing brand.
Who is behind it
Woman OwnedOrba Shoes clothing brand is not a woman owned clothing brand.
Verification statusnot assessed
Scan coverage
Products in catalogue4
Products read0
Catalogue read %0
How it was readRecalculated SKU by SKU from the saved direct-scan CSV Band column. Plant means the complete SKU was classified as 100% plant fibre; all other textile bands fail the plant test. Unresolved and excluded products are named separately.
Sources checkedSaved direct SKU scan CSV: Orba Shoes.csv. Row-level URLs retained: 4 of 4.
Last checked2026-09-05
Straight talk
Where Orba Shoes isn’t perfect
SourcingWhat the record says
Manufacturing factory identified only by city, not company name; raw-material origins/countries not disclosed; material suppliers' names withheld despite claiming their certifications; no published supplier or factory list.
CoverageWhat the record says
These named products were retained in the catalogue denominator but excluded from the observed percentage because the saved direct scan did not resolve a complete composition.
Confirmed at the source
What we read and checked
Read the evidence and its qualifications alongside each finding.
Orba Shoes · listing photograph
4 styles
Recorded findings available in this listing
Recorded data
Material evidence across 4 catalogue records
4Cotton mentioned
4Hemp mentioned
4Organic wording recorded
Recorded mentions can overlap when one style uses more than one material.
At a glance
Recorded features & ownership
Recorded values, with their qualifications retained.
Recorded composition
Plant50%
Animal0%
Synthetic0%
Semi-synth0%
Unclassified50%
OEKO-TEX Brand-attestedOur Cellulose Acetate has Oeko-tex Standard 100 certificationB Corp Brand-attestedOrba Shoes is now B Corp certified (10 December 2021).GOTS (brand-stated, not registry-confirmed) Brand-attestedBrand states only its cotton laces and threads are GOTS certified; it is not listed in the official GOTS database and names no certified supplier (checked 14/08/2026). Brand-attested at material level; not registry-verifiable.OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Brand-attestedOrba Shoes is not OEKO-TEX certified as a company, but its fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.1% for the planet Brand-attestedOrba Shoes clothing brand is not a member of 1% for the Planet.Vegan Brand-attestedOrba Shoes clothing brand is a vegan clothing brand.
Materials
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…
Cotton
Not applicable
Manufacturing
Not disclosed (footwear factory name not published)
End of life
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…
Certifications & claims
What the sources support
Our Cellulose Acetate has Oeko-tex Standard 100 certification · Checked 2026-08-08
Orba Shoes is now B Corp certified (10 December 2021). · Checked 2026-08-08
Brand states only its cotton laces and threads are GOTS certified; it is not listed in the official GOTS database and names no certified supplier (checked 14/08/2026). Brand-attested at material level; not registry-verifiable. · Checked 2026-08-14
OEKO-TEX® Standard 100Brand-attested
Orba Shoes is not OEKO-TEX certified as a company, but its fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.
1% for the planetBrand-attested
Orba Shoes clothing brand is not a member of 1% for the Planet.
VeganBrand-attested
Orba Shoes clothing brand is a vegan clothing brand.
The full record
Every field we hold on Orba Shoes
The field values retain the source’s wording and qualifications. A preview is shown where the full report is not available to your account.
Certifications 5 fields
GOTSOrba 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.
OEKO-TEX® Standard 100Orba Shoes is not OEKO-TEX certified as a company, but its fabric is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified.
Other CertificationsOrba Shoes is B Corp certified, achieving certification in December 2021, and the plant-based Ghost sneaker is a USDA Certified Biobased Product at 95%.
VeganOrba Shoes clothing brand is a vegan clothing brand.
Factory certificationsBSCI-certified factory; Orba is a certified B Corp (New Zealand brand)
Sourcing & supply chain 11 fields
Cotton. Country of originNot applicable (plant-fibre uppers, not cotton)
Cotton. Named farm / region / co-opNot applicable
Wool. Origin + farm + mulesing statusNot applicable / not used
Other materials. OriginUpper: 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.
Spinning mill. Name + countryNot disclosed (two Indonesian suppliers do weaving and dyeing but are not named)
Weaving / knitting mill. Name + countryNot disclosed (Indonesian weaving supplier in ILO training programme, unnamed)
Cut-and-sew / assembly factory NAMENot disclosed (footwear factory name not published)
Factory. City + countrySurabaya, East Java, Indonesia (producing footwear since 1990)
Publishes a factory list0
Traceability levelNot disclosed
Supplier disclosureNone
Scan coverage & transparency 10 fields
Products in catalogue4
Products read0
Catalogue read %0
How it was readRecalculated SKU by SKU from the saved direct-scan CSV Band column. Plant means the complete SKU was classified as 100% plant fibre; all other textile bands fail the plant test. Unresolved and excluded products are named separately.
Verification statusnot assessed
Sources checkedSaved direct SKU scan CSV: Orba Shoes.csv. Row-level URLs retained: 4 of 4.
Last checked2026-09-05
Verified byHTT research (brand policy pages)
Clean & Safe: last checked2026-07-29
How this date was establishedverified
Possible flags 2 fields
Why no scoreNOT 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.
Sourcing red flagsManufacturing factory identified only by city, not company name; raw-material origins/countries not disclosed; material suppliers' names withheld despite claiming their certifications; no published supplier or factory list.
Other recorded details 52 fields
Brand NameOrba Shoes
ExcerptIs Orba Shoes a sustainable clothing brand? See the real fibre breakdown, plant, animal or synthetic, before you buy.
Buy Linkhttps://orbashoes.eco/
LocationOrba Shoes are located in New Zealand.
CountryNew Zealand
Websitehttps://orbashoes.eco/
Ethicshttps://orbashoes.eco/pages/sustainability
OwnerGreg Howard is the owner of Orba Shoes.
Owner Linkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-howard-413176278/?originalSubdomain=id
Contact Emailhello@orbashoes.eco
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/orbashoes/
POCOrba Shoes clothing brand ownership is not identified as people of colour.
LGBTOrba Shoes was founded in 2020 by Greg Howard and Gillian Boucher.
Woman OwnedOrba Shoes clothing brand is not a woman owned clothing brand.
1% for the planetOrba Shoes clothing brand is not a member of 1% for the Planet.
Feature 1Orba 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 2Orba 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 3Orba 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.
ShippingOrba 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 InternationalDeliveries of Orba footwear shipped from New Zealand may be subject to local fees or taxes, for which the recipient is responsible.
Shipping NotesA 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.
Fibre Breakdown4 (100.0%) no stated composition
Unresolved products4
What this meansThese named products were retained in the catalogue denominator but excluded from the observed percentage because the saved direct scan did not resolve a complete composition.
Unresolved products (with links)Men’s Ghost Sneaker | https://orbashoes.eco/products/mens-ghost-sneaker
Women’s Ghost Sneaker | https://orbashoes.eco/products/womens-ghost-sneaker
Men’s Ghost Sneaker Development Edition Black / Black | https://orbashoes.eco/products/mens-ghost-sneaker-development-edition-black-black
Women’s Ghost Sneaker Development Edition Black / Black | https://orbashoes.eco/products/womens-ghost-sneaker-development-editions-black-black
Excluded items0
Why excludedNo non-textile products were excluded.
Products found4
Products with a fibre list0
Products with no fibre list4
Brand site readablepartially retained in CSV
Cotton. Type / certificationNot applicable
Polyester. Virgin or recycled + sourceNot disclosed / brand emphasises plant-based materials
Viscose / bamboo. Wood-pulp source + FSCNot disclosed
Dye house. Name + countryNot disclosed (Indonesian dyeing supplier in ILO training programme, unnamed)
Sourcing transparency score (1-5)3
Supply-chain summaryOrba 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.
Where the sourcing info was verifiedhttps://orbashoes.eco/pages/materials
https://orbashoes.eco/pages/sustainability
https://ethicalmadeeasy.com/ethical-brand/orba-shoes/
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/orba-biodegradable-sneakers/
Dye processLow-impact / GOTS-certified dyes
Dye process sourcehttps://orbashoes.eco/
Overall: where this info comes fromIndependently verified
PFAS / durable water repellentPFAS-free (verified)
PFAS sourcehttps://www.greenqueen.com.hk/orba-biodegradable-sneakers/
Take-back / repair schemeYes
Take-back sourcehttps://www.greenqueen.com.hk/orba-biodegradable-sneakers/
Resale / resell programme0
Claim sourcesClaim: OEKO-TEX · Source Type: brand_website · Source Url: https://orbashoes.eco/pages/materials · Quote: Our Cellulose Acetate has Oeko-tex Standard 100 certification · Verified Date: 2026-08-08 · Claim: B Corp · Source Type: brand_website · Source Url: https://orbashoes.eco/pages/b-corp · Quote: Orba Shoes is now B Corp certified (10 December 2021). · Verified Date: 2026-08-08 · Claim: GOTS (brand-stated, not registry-confirmed) · Source Type: brand_website · Held By: material_supplier · Source Url: https://orbashoes.eco/pages/materials · Quote: Brand states only its cotton laces and threads are GOTS certified; it is not listed in the official GOTS database and names no certified supplier (checked 14/08/2026). Brand-attested at material level; not registry-verifiable. · Verified Date: 2026-08-14
Total Styles Scanned4
Scan noteNOT 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.
Full catalogue scanno
Catalogue-scan qualificationNOT 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.
Scan method versionThrone Standard direct CSV recalculation 2026.09
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