It started as a university project and has turned into a commercial venture sourcing strong wool directly from New Zealand farmers and using vegetable-based dyes.
Jacob Smith’s mission has been to add value to the fibre, which is coarser than fashion-friendlymerino wool but makes up 80% of New Zealand’s wool clip.
It has struggled to find a market amid the rising use of synthetics.
“I know it’s a bit of a weird thing, I often talk to people about, and that’s the first question they ask, Why on earth would you do shoelaces? But I’ve always really loved shoes,“ Smith told RNZ’s Country Life.
“I started testing out wool, doing all sorts of stuff, dipping it in honey, knitting it, felting it, and when I did the knitting, I made this rectangle, and I was like, ‘What if I made this rectangle a little bit longer, what if I made it a little bit skinnier?’
“And all of a sudden, I had this shoelace.”
Smith, who had dabbled in selling shoes online as a teen, had also noticed the woollen fibre meant the laces didn’t come undone as easily as synthetic ones.
“It was only a 12-week project, but I felt like afterwards, I created this thing that was solving a problem, promoting the wool industry, and was feasible to be able to create a business out of, which was really cool.”
The Auckland University of Technology (AUT) graduate, with funding from the university, was able to commercialise his idea, selling the laces under the brand Woo-Lace via his company Steaddi.
Jacob Smith not only sources the wool for his Woo-Lace from New Zealand farmers, but oversees the manufacturing - all in NZ- and dyes the shoelaces himself using vegetables like cabbage and onion skins.
Smith sources the wool from a Wairarapa farm, Palliser Ridge, and the wool is scoured and spun at North Island factories.
“We don’t really have infrastructure to create things in New Zealand, and I think that sucks, and I want to try and challenge that, because I think it’s really important now more than ever, to be trying to make things as locally as possible.”
He adds bioplastic aglets - the small tips of the shoelaces - himself using a machine at his studio in Auckland.
Jacob dyes the laces himself using vegetables like cabbage and onion skins.
Smith also dyes the laces himself using vegetables like cabbage and onion skins.
“It’s become a really unique selling point for us, because people love to be able to get involved with how these colours are created and wear their values.”
While it started with woollen shoelaces, Smith is not stopping there.
He is testing out new products, including ties, belts and lanyards made of strong wool, bearing in mind the challenging “itch factor” of strong wool.
“There’s absolutely no reason that we can’t support this amazing material.
“There’s just so many amazing properties of wool - it’s fire resistant, odour absorbent, there’s so many cool things about wool that just make it this really interesting product that is so ingrained in New Zealand culture as well.
“I absolutely believe that we can uplift its value and especially in the fashion industry.”
