Age-old techniquesVALUE & TRADITION

It all began with the Maya Indians and Aztecs of South America who discovered the natural qualities of a milky liquid which flowed from the Cao Su (“Crying wood”) tree. By coagulating this milk, they made bracelets, rings, balls and torches. They smothered themselves in it to protect themselves from the cold. Eight hundred years ago, the Mayas were the first to use this milk under the arch of the foot: the pure hevea milk sole was born.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the extraordinary qualities of this milk which he brought back to Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century, the tree was renamed Hevea and was imported into the hot and humid climate of South East Asia. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam thereby became the world’s leading producers of hevea milk.

In the 1950s, spotting the exceptional properties of hevea milk and drawing inspiration from the know-how of the first Amerindians, a French engineer developed an innovative method of refining the milk by hand to produce extraordinarily comfortable and supple hard-wearing soles: the material Lactae Hevea was born.

In 1970, RELTEX revived these age-old techniques to perpetuate the refining process producing soles by hand using pure hevea milk: the LACTAE HEVEA® sole was born.

Recognised throughout the world, the LACTAE HEVEA® trademark guarantees the excellence of an exclusive, environmentally-friendly product made in France, entirely by hand and from 100% natural virgin hevea milk. It is the stamp of the unique alveolar microstructure which gives the LACTAE HEVEA® sole its unparalleled comfort.

The LACTAE HEVEA® sole revives the traditions of an almost forgotten know-how.