What’s the carbon footprint of your shoes?
by Kristina Stoney
THE FACTS
Take a close look at your shoe! What do you see?
The different parts of shoes are all fairly the same, no
matter if you’re wearing a shoe from one brand or another. These shoes are mostly made up of the same
things too: rubber, plastic, synthetic cloth, and industrial glue.
THE UPPER
The upper of a shoe is all the parts above the sole. There’s
the vamp (the front of the shoe), the quarters (the side
and back of the shoe), and the linings. Uppers are made
from all sorts of materials, both natural and synthetic.
For fancier shoes, leather is often used because it
moulds to the foot and allows air to pass through the
shoe, letting feet breathe. Synthetics aren’t as nice to
your feet, but they are the most popular material to
use, because they are cheaper to mass-produce.
THE OUTSOLE
The insole is the interior bottom of a shoe, where the
bottom of your foot meets your shoe. Insoles are often made of cellulose, which is treated to stop bacteria from growing. Next is the sole, which is the part
that comes into contact with the ground. Easy, right?
Though do you know what it’s made out of? Most
modern shoes have soles made from different rubbers or Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounds. PVC is a
type of plastic that’s strong and very cheap to make.
Unfortunately, PVC is the worst plastic for the environment, because of all of the toxic chemicals that leach
out during production. There’s also a lot of controversy
about how PVC can harm human health.
THE PROBLEM
Because shoes contain so much plastic, they create
a lot of pollution in their production. They also take
about 1000 years to degrade once they’re thrown out.
So – what to do?
34 SwitchOn
Making shoes from recycled materials is an
exciting new trend that many shoe manufacturers are
embracing. It used to be only small companies who
were interested in being environmentally responsible,
but now some of the biggest brands are working
towards being more sustainable.
Companies are recycling products like plastic, inner
tubes, tires, and cork to use in their shoes. Using
sustainable materials like cork for insoles, latex rubber
for the outsole, and leathers or skins (from cows,
pigs and goats) instead of synthetics are all ways to
manufacture footwear with a reduced impact on the
environment. Even when a company uses leather that
needs to be tanned (a process to make the leather
more durable) they can use vegetables or the bark and
leaves of various plants instead of heavy chemicals and
minerals like chromium.
SOME OTHER OPTIONS:
Bamboo: used in shoes to reduce odours, and one of
the fastest-growing plants in the world that also grows
without the use of pesticides.
Recycled car tires: tires which are cut in half and then
into smaller pieces for use in sneaker soles. This also
saves tires from being incinerated, stopping harmful
chemicals from being released in the water and air.
Natural latex: The Amazon is the only place on earth
where wild rubber trees are to be found, and tapping
them for latex does not involve any felling or killing of
trees – it’s a renewable and biodegradable resource.
Learning about where shoes come from can be
quite fascinating, and if you’d like to explore further
check out the free resources and activities in iTunes U
or on Ride To Learn.