Skråmträsk Sko is a Swedish footwear company based in Skråmträsk outside Skellefteå. The business began in 1989 and has since grown into a combination of shoe manufacturing, retail shop, and café. In 2003 the physical store was built, and as visits from bus tours increased, the company opened a café in the old flour mill across the road, which had previously milled grain for local farmers. The transformation of the mill has become an important meeting place for the village and has contributed to increased interest in living in the area. The factory and store are open year-round, while the café receives around 10,000 visitors during the summer season. Much of the operation is now powered by solar panels installed on the buildings.

Local and sustainable shoemaking

Skråmträsk Sko produces its shoes in its own workshop and deliberately works with a limited number of retailers. Sales take place mainly locally, along with selected external retailers in Gothenburg, Stockholm, and outside Pajala.

The company uses environmentally friendly, vegetable-tanned leather sourced from Swedish farms, primarily through suppliers in Tärnsjö and Dalarna. Material choices are guided by considerations of both environmental impact and product durability, and customers are encouraged to care for and repair their shoes to extend their lifespan. Repairs are carried out one day per week and include services such as replacing soles, checking seams, and leather maintenance. Customers can also send in shoes via the online service on the website.

Upcycling and reuse

A key part of the company’s sustainability efforts is to make use of leftover materials. Leather is a natural material, and some pieces cannot be used in regular production if, for example, they have been miscut. Skråmträsk Sko therefore designs special models in which leftover pieces are turned into unique upcycled shoes. This initiative has received significant attention and the shoes are sold via a waiting list.

The company also runs a “Reuse” service, where customers can submit Skråmträsk shoes in good condition to be resold to new users. For example, if a customer feels that a shoe is slightly too small, the wrong color, or simply not being used, they can return it to be resold. This reduces consumption and supports a circular use of products.

New materials and development projects

Skråmträsk Sko collaborates with Reselo, a company developing a biobased rubber material made from residual streams of birch bark. The company is testing soles using this material, which currently consists of approximately 50% biobased content. A pair of these shoes is featured in an exhibition at the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. In addition, the company uses blends of natural rubber and recycled material from an Italian supplier.

The product range also includes wool insoles combined with cork and a rubber mixture, where the wool comes from Italy and the cork component is manufactured in Portugal. Skråmträsk Sko also collaborates with TOVA in Norway, which runs projects in Mongolia producing hand-felted slippers and using vegetable-tanned leather. This creates local employment opportunities and ensures clean, plastic-free wool materials.

Environmental policy and operations

Skråmträsk Sko works systematically with a clear environmental profile. Other products sold in the shop are carefully selected for long lifespan and ethical production. The office uses eco-labelled supplies, packing materials are reused whenever possible, and all waste is sorted. All electricity comes from renewable sources, largely from the company’s own solar panels.

Investments and development

With support from the EU’s Rural Development Programme and the European Regional Development Fund, the company has invested in new machinery, energy efficiency measures, and an expansion of the shoe workshop. These investments have also enabled the development of new shoe models, including Skråmträsk sneakers, and participation in trade fairs to establish connections with additional retailers.