Ace'98 marino

From clay court to city street: the ACE'98 innovation

Every year in France, 14 million tennis balls end up in the bin. While they are indispensable on the court, they are a genuine disaster for the planet: their lifespan is negligible (barely 30 to 60 minutes of play for professionals!) due to the rapid loss of their bounce. As a result, 97% of them are immediately incinerated or buried in landfill, where they will take nearly 400 years to decompose, releasing microplastics and methane in the process.

Faced with this ecological nonsense, we decided to transform this short-lived waste into a durable product. In collaboration with several tennis clubs in the Vizela region of Portugal, located just a few kilometres from our workshops, we established a short-circuit recovery network.

The used balls collected are meticulously ground into very fine particles. This new powder is then fused with recycled synthetic rubber, before being dyed and injected directly into the mould to form the thick sole and the logo of the ACE'98.

Giving a desirable second life to an object destined for destruction — that is the very essence of the ACE'98. Past shapes the future.

Your feet carry you — take care of them.

At Zèta, comfort is not a detail — it is a starting point. Where many brands focus solely on style, we take the challenge of combining aesthetics, ethics and well-being at every stage of our trainers' development.

Our styles are designed to adapt naturally to your foot: supple, lightweight and breathable, they give you the feeling of walking in slippers — and that is indeed what more than 90% of our customers tell us in their reviews. So it is not just us saying it — it is you.

The secret? We use Strobel construction, a premium manufacturing technique that gives the shoe exceptional flexibility. The result: natural cushioning, no sensation of stiffness, and unparalleled freedom of movement, even after hours of walking.

No more blisters or heavy legs: our trainers go everywhere with you, in the city or in the forest, from the very first to the very last step of your day.

Trainers built to last, with no compromise on comfort.

Our materials are carefully selected to be pleasant to wear and long-lasting. Before launch, all our prototypes pass through the hands of the CTCP (Centre Technologique de la Chaussure au Portugal) for flexibility and abrasion testing. They are then tested in real conditions by our team and the members of the Zèta club.

Each pair is hand-assembled by our Portuguese craftspeople, then subjected to rigorous quality control to ensure that your comfort meets our standards — and yours.

Garment workshop – Vizela, Portugal

We are proud to work with partners who share our values and are as committed as we are, both environmentally and socially.

It was at the age of 20 that Albano assembled his first pair of shoes, at the back of a garage. 

His first pairs of shoes were then sold in a few shops in the city and after Sunday mass. The shoes were appreciated for their quality and were quickly sold throughout the north of Portugal.

For more than thirty years, nearly 150 artisans have been perpetuating Portuguese craftsmanship, bringing particular care to every detail and finish. They joined us on our journey in 2022 and we have built very strong bonds over the months.

Labels

	ISO 14001 | Environmental management systems
	ISO 9001 | Quality management
	SMETA | Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit