Civic Duty footwear is made of Tyvek, a comfortable, breathable material made by DuPont™ that is also water resistant and highly durable. Tyvek, it’s not just for FedEx anymore. The lightweight, paper-like material , best known for its use in mailing pouches and home building, provides the inspiration for a new line of casual sneakers.
The collection, fulfills creator Steven Weinreb’s desire for a brand that will give back to the community. Each year, the 100% of the profits from one of the styles will go to a charity selected by the brand’s consumers. All of Civic Duty’s Tyvek sneaker s are recyclable and stylish.
I was intrigued by the technology and decided to test out one of their many models – the Exhilaration. The Civic Duty Exhilaration has a classic styling with signature argyle heel strip. It also has an elastic gore so shoes can be worn without laces.
The shoe weighs in at 7.6 ounces for a Men’s size 11. Yes, you may want to size up too – more later. It has a stack height of 16mm and a measured heel-to-toe drop of 9mm even though you may not feel it.
The first thing I noticed is the narrow toe box. For those of you who have wide feet, this is a major issue. Given that Tyvek will soften over time, I decided to give the Exhilaration a chance on my wide feet. I’m a regular US size 10 2E and the test pair is a US size 11 standard D width. For those with normal width feet, you may want to size up to the next size since they only come in full sizes.
The second thing I noticed is the uncomfortable poking by the Tyvek on the uppers when it is still new. It softened over time but hopefully maybe the Tyvek can be pre-wrinkled more in the factory so it’s soft out of the box.
Other than those two minor annoyances, this is a great casual shoe that is water resistant and has a vintage look. It looks good with jeans and comfortable when walking. It has been raining quite a bit in Northern California in the last few days and I simply cannot ask for a better shoe to brave the elements – short of wearing the Sperry Topside SON-R or VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra!
Tyvek is a comfortable, breathable material made by DuPont that is also water resistant and highly durable. The Tyvek has been pre-wrinkled to give Civic Duty shoes a “worn” look right out of the box. It is normal that over time, the color of the shoe will fade a bit, adding to the vintage look.
The Exhilaration is currently available is about 5 colors for men and 8 colors for women but there will be a wider selection of colors in Spring ’12.
Currently, 100% of the profits from the Fascination (classic styling with signature argyle heel strip) Black Metallic Gold model will be donated to Common Ground Relief, a state and federally registered 501c3 not-for-profit organization providing short term relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region and long term support in rebuilding the communities affected in the New Orleans area.
More models available now at Civic Duty Shoes web site.
*Product provided by Civic Duty Shoes (MSRP $54). CMP.LY/1 Review
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