Well, it's very simple, by 2021, if nothing changes, more than 500 billion plastic bottles will be sold each year in the world! And since most shoes use plastic materials, you might as well combine the 2 and create recycled plastic shoes, right?
How to make recycled plastic shoes?
So rather than ending up in landfills, or worse in the oceans, at SAOLA, we recycle plastic bottles. And since it's not enough to add laces to old plastic bottles (we've already tried, comfort level is not ideal), we decided to explain to you how we do to get the canvas of our shoes recycled !
1. Plastic sorting
Once they arrive at the recycling center, the bins are sorted, and all clear plastic bottles are collected! This is an important step because it guarantees the quality and homogeneity of the recovered plastic.
2. Shredding
This is the stage where all these bottles are cleaned and crushed into small pieces, but really very small, we start cutting small pieces again, even smaller, and still smaller until you get sort of small balls!
3. Plastic melting
All our little bits of bottle are then melted (and we're not talking about Savoyard fondue…), and extracted through small holes, but really tiny...tiny...miniatures...until they turn into thread. It is this yarn that will serve as the basis for weaving the material for our recycled shoes!
4. Spinning
This is where the magic happens, we end up obtaining a 100% recycled fiber, which only needs to be woven to have a second life! And that's where at SAOLA, we use this yarn to create the canvas for our recycled shoes.
And TADAAAAAAAAM! We get a pair of stylish, comfortable, and recycled pumps, made for our everyday life, and for those to come! It's as simple as that, to commit to the future.
And since we firmly believe in recycling, but not just plastic, we have worked to recycle the algae in our soles .
So, if you're still wondering if recycling is worth it, the answer is a big YES !
So join the movement, together we can #MAKEANIMPACT!
