If you have come up with a recycled product, you surely have the attention of the eco-conscious. Since necessity is the mother of invention, even brands like Nike are entering the sustainability market with their green products. Nevertheless, there are many other fashion brands too, who focus more exclusively on sustainable clothes and accessories. Here are some recycled shoes designs from these very brands. The shoes mentioned in this article are not only good for the environment, but they are trendy and come in various styles that will suit your taste.
1. Tire shoes by Seal
By flaunting their fashionable shoes such as ‘Care and wear’ shoes, Seal shows how fashion, comfort and concern for the environment, all can be integrated with style. Made out of recycled inner and outer tire tubes, these shoes come in amazing designs that are classy and stylish. They are definitely worth having if you want to make a green fashion statement.
2. Colin Lin’s newspaper shoes
These ‘Dare to wear’ shoes by Colin Lin are handmade using Taiwanese recycled newspaper. They are eco friendly alternatives and it takes about two to three hours to make each pair. The approximate retail price of each pair ranges between $100 to $150. You can also buy matching bags made of recycled paper to go along with these flats.
3. New Balance’s NewSKY Minimus
The New balance NewSKY shoes make excellent use of recycled fabric in the upper exterior as well as the interior of the shoe. The design cut is simple yet elegant and comes in a color combination of red and grey. All shoes in this range are comfortably stitched with a wide toe box for easy wear. The fabric used for the upper part is 95 percent recycled and is made out of eco fit, a fabric made from PET plastic bottles.
4. Shoes by Terra Plana
Terra Plana has a range of eco friendly shoes that are best for summers. Made out of recycled, organic materials, these shoes are a class apart. Women can walk easily as the shoes have a scientific design that helps in maintaining the right posture.
5. Eco friendly Sneakers
Perfect for summers, these eco friendly sneakers come with soles made of 100 percent recycled rubber, which is collected from factories making floor waste. The upper part of the shoe is a mix of cotton and hemp. They are available at an approximate price of $29.95 and come packed in recycled boxes.
6. Brooks’ Green Silence Running Shoes
Brooks’ Green Silence Running shoes are exclusively for earth loving athletes. They come with a new type of mid sole known as BioMogo, which is a natural microbe attracting additive. This additive helps in early decomposition of the shoe. Recycled plastic water bottles are used to prepare the mesh netting of the shoe shell. You can run for miles in these eco friendly shoes while enjoying their comfort and lightness.
7. Simple Girls Satire Elastic
The Simple Girls Satire Elastic by Simple shoes is a pair of the eco friendly sneakers that targets young teenage girls. The sneakers offer all the comfort and style, along with the green credentials they carry. While the upper portion of the shoe is made of hemp and organic cotton, the bottom pedbed of the shoe is composed of spongy soft polyurethane foam and recycled rubber car tire. All contents of the shoe are 100 percent vegan. Even the shoelaces are made of organic cotton.
8. Recycled shoes by Liza Fredrika Aslund
Liza Fredrika Aslund, a fashion student at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen, has designed these unique recycled shoes. The heels are made out of the wood left unused at construction sites. These wooden fragments are stacked together on an iron pin forming a single unit. The entire process of cutting and mounting is done with hands. The design of the shoe allows even distribution of weight regardless of its 12 cm high heels. Each pair of the shoe has a single color and you can chose from pink, blue and camel.
9. Beyond Skin faux suede footwear
To make these stylish faux suede shoes, Beyond Skin uses a microfiber called Dinamica, which is made from recycled PET bottles. The faux leather like material can be completely recycled after it becomes obsolete. Since the Dinamica is highly durable and water resistant, these eco friendly shoes do well in the harsh weather conditions as well.
10. Recycled Denim shoes
Made by the famous brand, Levis, the ‘Reused Jean Shoe’ is made out of old jeans. The eco friendly shoes include yellow lining with coin pockets and stud buttons for a chic look. To create every shoe, they use a few pairs of old Levi’s jeans, which would otherwise have been thrown away for nothing.
11. Adidas Shoes Made from Biodegradable Artificial Spider Silk
Always known for its innovation, this time Adidas has successfully formulated a shoe that will dissolve right in your sink. The upper portion of the biodegradable shoe is made from Biosteel, a synthetic biopolymer fiber manufactured by a German firm called AMSilk. While staying strong and durable as other running shoes, the biodegradable pair is 15 percent lighter than its counterparts. When you’re done with these shoes, you can easily dispose them off. Simply immerse them in water, add proteinase (a digestion enzyme) and let them sit there for 36 hours. Everything except the foam sole will flow down the sink. Adidas recommends a 2-year use of the running shoes before you finally dispose them off.
12. Sneaker with Carbon dioxide in the Foam of Its Sole
NRG Energy is committed to reduce and reuse carbon emissions. The organization came up with a shoe, which features foam made from carbon dioxide in its sole. It is endorsed as ‘A Shoe Without Footprint.’ The company succeeded into developing 5 different types of foams made from different materials but at last, foam made of carbon dioxide was chosen. One of the most astonishing aspects of the CO2-made sole is its remarkable shock absorption ability. The company believes that it can some time later use the same process for developing shoe upper from carbon dioxide.
13. Adidas Shoes Made from Illegal Fishing Nets
Nobody thought that sea trash and illegal gillnets can be used to make running shoes until Adidas succeeded in doing so. These illegal gillnets were seized by Sea Shepherd, a conversation group. Developed by Adidas, the technique of converting gillnets into shoe produces much less waste than other traditional shoe-making processes. According to Adidas, the knitting technique used to make its Primeknit shoe is zero-waste. The fishnet-knitted shoe is a part of Parley for the Oceans program. The aim of the organization is to raise awareness for climate change and ocean pollution. In fact, Adidas is one of the co-founders of the organization. The Adidas gillnet/garbage shoe is a successful demonstration of how sea waste can be used for making useful products. After all, for years now, Adidas has been one of the leading brands that have been at the forefront of Sustainable Fashion.
14. Timberland Shoes Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
Timberland’s collaboration with a Pittsburgh-based fabric manufacturer called Thread resulted into a chain of footwear and bags made up to 50 percent from recycled plastic bottles. The plastic bottles used for making the shoes are collected from Haiti and Honduras. Timberland’s latest shoe innovation is not only aimed at preserving nature but also working for the underprivileged. According to a Timberland official, the shoe program is to serve as a pilot for other similar programs the company will launch in the near future. The whole shoe-making venture provided job opportunity to about 3,600 bottle collectors, entrepreneurs and manufacturing employees.
15. Rothy’s 3D-Knitted Ballet Flats Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
Rothy’s announced the arrival of a shoe with carbon-free top plus recyclable outsoles made from rubber and fully recyclable foam insoles. The shoe is produced with a 3-D knitting technique, which generates little waste if not producing waste at all. Each ballet flat used in the shoe is equal to about 3 recycled plastic bottles. After fusing the material into a filament, the plastic bottle content is spun into yarn, which is then treated with a moisture-wicking agent. The shoes are available in a number of variants. Available in round-toed and pointy-toed variations, Rothy’s 3D-Knitted Ballet Flats come in several colors, including flax, pale pink and stone.
Final Words
Recycling has caught the world’s attention and man is implementing recycling in every field possible. The latest is recycled shoes made from eco-friendly materials that include used tires, plastic bottles, etc.