Open Letter

To all shoe buyers

Over the recent decades, we witnessed an incredible shift: CDs to streaming, letters to emails, and film photos to iPhone snaps. Isn’t it fascinating how products once physical are now digital? 

While we witnessed the computer & internet revolution, it feels like innovation has reached a plateau: Content and services are digitalized, but what about our products? Why do we still hand-assemble and ship them around the ocean? What happened to the idea of the replicator that can produce anything at a push of a button? 

3D-printing always had the promise of bridging that gap from digital to tangible. And we’ve all seen the headlines: 3D-printed houses, prosthetics or even food. Yet, until now it’s been either relegated to hobbyists or industrial applications no consumer sees. What’s missing for 3D-printing to unlock its potential to finally become the biggest revolution of our lifetime?

We at Zellerfeld believe it’s shoes.

Why? Ancient processes, consumer frustration and our intrinsic desire for personal expression converge here, making footwear ripe for revolution. Shoes are also something that everybody needs. To us, shoes aren’t just footwear - they are the first step towards that future. While books helped the world understand e-commerce, we believe shoes will help the world understand the future of products is printed. 

Imagine a world where every brand, big or small, can share their vision and produce without upfront costs, fostering continuous innovation while solving the issue from disposing of 65 million shoes globally every day. Fully recyclable shoes, free from glue joints and weak points, offer a real alternative here. 

Changing an industry isn't easy, but it's worth it.

Join us and contribute by securing your production slot and a few pairs.  

Let’s walk the talk! 

Cornelius Schmitt

Zellerfeld, CEO & Co-Founder