Tuesday, November 26

These plant-based sneakers return to enrich the earth once you throw them away

Bensimon tennis shoes are pictured at the headquarters of the Bensimon lifestyle, clothing and footwear brand on June 13, 2018 in Paris.  (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP) (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
Bensimon tennis shoes are pictured at the headquarters of the Bensimon lifestyle, clothing and footwear brand on June 13, 2018 in Paris. (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP) (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)

Photo: JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images

The opinion

For: The opinion Posted Jan 31, 2023, 21:20 pm EST

More and more projects are emerging that seek to contribute to the environmental conservation avoiding contamination and one of them is the one developed by Unless Collectivewhich consists of some plastic free tennis shoes that break down into biodegradable materials once you dispose of them.

The tennis called The Degenerates they are inspired by skateboarding and made 100% with plants and minerals, so they can become soil products at the end of their useful life. This product is capable of biologically degrade safely at the end of its useful life.

“We have developed real applications that turn our shoes into valuable inputs for new flooring products, allowing Unless to use the decomposition process To give birth something totally new”, explains Unless Collective.

This collective partnered with NFW (Natural Fiber Wielding), a company that develops plant-based materials, to produce a material soft enough to serve as a sole and cushioning from The Degenerate. To achieve this, the brands resorted to totally natural materials.

To create a breathable, lightweight and flexible shoe that offers protection, durability, comfort and traction, all without using plastics or petrochemicals, the collective points out that they had to go back in time to rediscover old school shoemaking techniques used in the era before plastics.

But don’t worry, the fact that the sole is made of plants does not make the shoe less durable, it just makes it a product that degenerates and can be recycled to form other products.

“Made only with plants and minerals, The Degenerate can with everything you throw at it. It is made to last”, assures the group.

It is necessary to return the tennis shoes so that they can be returned to the earth

To get these sneakers back to earth to degrade, you can’t just leave them in the environment and wait for them to disappear, it is necessary to return itsa Unless Collective for them to take over.

“All of our products are built to last, but inevitably, shoes and clothing wear out. we pick up your shoes at no additional cost and we return them to our material supplier and partner NFW. NFW will then create new land productsa”, explains the group.

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