New life in old shoes
Mend those holes in the soles
Your Challenge
Instead of throwing away your shoes, try getting them mended at your local high-street shoe repair shop. Many of us don’t realise that when shoes break, they can often be repaired. Maybe you’ve broken a heel or worn through the soles. Perhaps they’re no longer waterproof, or a zip has broken. Different kinds of damage can often be repaired, so it’s worth taking your shoes to your local cobblers to see what they can do. You might be surprised.
Why you're doing this
Every year, 22.4 billion pairs of shoes are sold.[1] Shoes are made from a variety of materials with high environmental footprints, such as leather, rubber, plastic, cotton, and even wood. If these materials aren’t sustainably sourced, they could be doing a lot of harm when they’re manufactured.
A pair of leather boots may come from poorly treated animals, on intensive agriculture farms. The hides then undergo several chemical processes to tan the leather, which leach chemicals into drinking water and harm workers. A pair of cotton plimsolls might come from cotton that consumes thousands of litres of water, have chemical fertilisers applied to the land which harm biodiversity, and then shipped around the world. Synthetic rubber trainers are made from plastic, which comes from fossil fuels and contributes to global warming.
Many of our shoes won’t biodegrade and cannot be recycled, so they end up in landfill or are burned with other rubbish, producing more greenhouse gas emissions.
How you'll make a difference
By getting shoes repaired, you extend their lifespan, reducing demand for raw materials to make new shoes. You also support local repair businesses which help the planet by repairing other items and extending their life. Repairing shoes can also save you the cost of buying new shoes.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
