SNEAKERS IN THE ERA OF SUSTAINABILITY

My sneakers were wearing out. Holes had developed in their soles. I had to replace them. I eventually did. When I did do, I placed them in the dustbin. However, it anxiously run through my mind as to how the discarded sneakers were going to end up. Right away it occurred to me that they were going to end up in a landfill, having dropped them in the dustbin to be collected by waste collectors. In the landfill the sneakers are going to be burnt up, and their ash decompose into the soil.

In the process the natural environment is going to be compromised because of the toxins to be released. In burning the sneakers greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere because of at least the fossil fuel-based materials used in making the sneakers. If the ashes of the sneakers decompose into the soil toxin should be released into the soil. All those eat into posterity’s share of virgin natural environment.

That being the case, sustainability in the production of sneakers is the way to go, so as to preserve the natural environment for posterity.

It then behooves each and every human inhabitant on planet Earth to not only encourage the production of sustainable sneakers, but also to look out for sustainable sneakers to buy and wear.    

Connecting a sneaker to sustainability might be unthinkable to many an earthling. But the plain fact is that sneakers are made from materials tapped from the natural environment. Are those materials being exhausted or not?  Mankind, male or female, without the natural environment, you cannot have a single wear on you.

The natural environment, the resources thereof, provide the ingredients with which we fashion out things wearable for humans, including sneakers.

By reproduction you as human enter the natural environment, there is no other way! By and through the natural environment you are nurtured, and sustained through your material life till death. What you take in to sustain your life comes from the natural environment. What you expel from your body to sustain your material life is absorbed and processed by the natural environment.

Sneakers are wearables, wearables that contribute to the sustenance of human life- material life! In contributing to the sustenance of human life, the sneakers themselves must be seen to be sustainable!

NAMING

Sneakers is the name given the wearables, which is a pair of shoes- a sports shoe, by a specific people. But they are given other names by other peoples. Under this section I cover varied names given this same pair of shoes, from different geographic areas in the world.

From the link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers we get a story of the names of the shoes some call sneakers, as follows:

The shoes have gone by a variety of names, depending on geography and changing over the decades. The term "sneakers" is most commonly used in Northeastern United States, Central and South Florida,[3][4] New Zealand, and parts of Canada. However, in Australian, Canadian, and Scottish English, running shoes and runners are synonymous terms used to refer to sneakers; with the latter term also used in Hiberno-English. Tennis shoes is another term used in Australian, and North American English.

 

The British English equivalent of sneaker in its modern form is divided into two separate types - predominantly outdoor and fashionable trainers, training shoes or quality 'basketball shoes' and in contrast cheap rubber-soled, low cut and canvas-topped 'plimsolls'. In Geordie English, sneakers may also be called sandshoes, gym boots, or joggers;[5] while plimsolls may be referred to as daps in Welsh English.

 

Several terms for sneakers exist in South Africa, including gym shoes, tennies, sports shoes, sneaks, and takkies.[6] Other names for sneakers includes rubber shoes in Philippine English, track shoes in Singapore English, canvas shoes in Nigerian English, Camboo in Ghana English meaning Camp boot and sportex in Greece.

 

Plimsolls (British English) are "low-tech" athletic shoes and are also called "sneakers" in American English. The word "sneaker" is often attributed to American Henry Nelson McKinney, who was an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer & Son. In 1917, he used the term because the rubber sole made the shoe's wearer stealthy. The word was already in use at least as early as 1887, when the Boston Journal made reference to "sneakers" as "the name boys give to tennis shoes." The name "sneakers" originally referred to how quiet the rubber soles were on the ground, in contrast to noisy standard hard leather sole dress shoes. Someone wearing sneakers could "sneak up", while someone wearing standards could not.[7]

 

Earlier, the name "sneaks" had been used by prison inmates to refer to warders because of the rubber-soled shoes they wore.[8]

ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY

Through the link https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T I gather that:

More than 23 billion pairs of sneakers are produced every year, but behind the great demand for footwear is an industry so wasteful it's almost beyond measure. Most of these new pairs use virgin plastic, rubber, and petroleum, producing alarming amounts of carbon dioxide. According to sneaker startup Nothing New, about 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown out every year and, on average, it takes 30-40 years for a pair to fully decompose in a landfill.

So my old sneakers I dropped into the dust bin to be taken to the landfill may take 30-40 years to decompose, and in decomposing, some toxins will be released into the soil! In its production too carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere. I am saying so because part of that sneakers was made from fossil fuel-based materials. It was a pair of low top Converse sneakers.

Please note in paragraph two of this section that “most of these new pairs use virgin plastic, rubber, and petroleum”. They are materials directly or indirectly sourced from the natural environment. It should be noted that some of them are derived from fossil fuel. It from the processing of fossil fuel that carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere.

HEADS UP

With the human population density, threatening the carrying capacity of planet Earth, ought humans not to be measured about the usage of the very resources of the natural environment that provides for their sustenance, and also to cater for posterity?

Sneakers is very much a wearable in our times. Wearable for exercise. Wearable for leisure. Wearable for competitive sports. And even it is worn on formal occasions. Leisure and exercise have become very much an integral part of lifestyle of today. Billion dollar industries!

How much of resources of the natural environment then goes into the production of sneaker, and how much waste does it generate? Sneakers must be produced in ways that do not take away from the natural resources of the natural environment that belongs to posterity. Disposable sneakers must not be disposed of in ways as to deprive posterity of their share of the resources of the natural environment or depreciate them. As far as this post goes, it all boils down to lifestyle of sustainability. 

We should proceed to find out what man is doing to live a sustainable sneakers life.

Through the link https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T#adidas-x-parley-1 Business Insider is saying:

In the past, most shoppers would have put little thought into exactly how the items they bought were made, but that is no longer the case all around. In addition to demanding trendsetting styles and groundbreaking innovations, the educated consumers of today expect products to be made responsibly.

Sportswear retail expert Matt Powell explained to Business Insider that younger people are very concerned with how their purchases are affecting the environment. "Sustainability is an important theme in retail, so much so that younger consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products," said Powell.

FLIPPING ATTITUDES OF BRANDS

 Again Business Insider through link https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T#adidas-x-parley-1 tells us how attitudes of brands are flipping to the production of sustainable sneakers:

"Brands have long been concerned about making products sustainably, but they're being more forward and open about it."

If you're looking to make better, more sustainable choices, we hear you. We are too, which is why we rounded up this list of brands that are using innovative, eco-friendly materials and more sustainable production methods to make sneakers.

From performance sneakers made by popular brands like Nike and Adidas to fashion-forward trainers from startups like Everlane and Allbirds, you'll find plenty of brands new and old working to set new standards. 

RESULTS OF FLIPPING ATTITUDES

Following from the preceding section I give below some brands on the list, so that when you and I go shopping for sneakers in future we can differentiate between sneakers that are sustainable and those that are not sustainable, and opt for those that are sustainable (if you not already doing that).

ADIDAS

Adidas a well-known sports brand teams up with Parley for the Oceans, an environmental organization to produce sustainable sneakers.

The two brands teamed up for the first time in 2015 to make a sneaker using yarn made from recycled ocean plastic and illegal deep-sea gill nets.

In 2017 and 2018 Adidas sold 1 million and 5 million pairs of sneakers respectively, using Parsley for the Oceans’ recycled plastic.  

So when we go out shopping for Adidas sneakers we must look out for the Adidas sustainable sneakers, in preference over those not sustainable, produced in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans!

CONVERSE

The link https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T#converse-renew-5 tells us what Converse too is doing in the space of sustainable sneaker production, and it is as follows:

The Chuck Taylor All-Star is cemented in footwear as one of, if not the most timeless sneaker on the planet, but Converse has proven that it's able to stay in touch with modern demands. Using 100% recycled plastic bottles to make up its canvas upper, the Renew Collection is the latest example of its commitment to produce more carefully.

The process starts with plastic bottles sourced by US-based recycling company First Mile. The plastic is then ground up into flakes, melted, rolled into bales, spun into yarn, and weaved into canvas.

Note that Converse’s sustainability in this instance relates to the upper part of the sneaker only. However it was a step forward, a reduction in plastic waste was achieved.

NOTHING NEW

A new sneakers company called Nothing New is worth mentioning in the sustainability trend. Its efforts in the sustainability trend is projected by https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T#nothing-new-4 thus:

Founded in 2019, Nothing New is a sneaker startup that aims to positively impact the planet and educate the people that live on it. Unlike most brands on this list that are simply making strides to improve their eco-friendliness, sustainability is at the very core of the brand.

 

As the name suggests, Nothing New sneakers are made with only recycled materials. The upper is 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, while its other components are made from recycled cotton, fishing nets, rubber, and cork.

 

Beyond the production process, Nothing New offers $20 discounts on new pairs to those who send back their used sneakers. Depending on the condition of the sneakers, Nothing New will clean and donate them or break them down and put the materials back into its recycled supply chain.

NIKE

Regarding Nike, in the sustainability crusade, https://www.businessinsider.com/sustainable-sneaker-brands?IR=T#nike-6 has that which follows to say:

In 2018, Nike was recognized by Textile Exchange as using the most recycled polyester in the industry for the sixth year in a row, and from 2010-2018, the brand transformed 6.4 billion plastic water bottles into recycled footwear or apparel.

Nike's signature Flyknit material, which can be found on footwear throughout the brand's catalog, is made in-part with recycled plastic, but the Swoosh is doing more than sustainable kits. This past Earth Day, Nike also launched sneakers made from Flyleather, a new material made from at least 50% recycled leather fiber. Although there haven't been many other sneakers to release with Flyleather yet, you can expect the material to be included in more future designs.

CONCLUSION

In my last post entitled “THE ERA OF SUSTAINABILITY AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION”, I made the point that we are in the era of sustainability. An era of sustainability to be expressed in attitude, practically, and in every sphere of human endeavor. In our time it is dawning on us that some natural resources of the natural environment humans depend on for sustenance are not inexhaustible. Some projections are that the way and rate at which man is using the resources of the natural environment today, planet Earth may not be able to support posterity in future if there is no critical intervention now.  THAT CRITICAL INTERVENTION IS SUSTAINABILITY!  This post is focusing on a practical everyday wearable- sneakers. The post has shown that in the production and disposal of sneakers the natural environment is compromised. If man continues to tread that path there will not be a natural environment worth living in, let alone a share for posterity. Posterity will be deprived of a natural environment to live in! In order not to compromise the natural environment in the production, usage and disposal of sneakers, we must use materials that will not compromise the natural environment during their production, usage and disposal. Sneakers produced as such are sustainable sneakers. The companies now treading the path of sustainability in an era of sustainability, such as Adidas and Converse etc., and saying it loud and clear that they are preserving for posterity their share of the natural resources of the natural environment. You as a consumer of sneakers must play your part in the global human effort for a clean and sustainable natural environment by patronizing sustainable sneakers, indeed everything sustainable.  Sustainability is the in thing!