Zero-Waste options:
Buy Pre-loved, sell, swap or freecycle shoes
- See: Clothes
Buy New:
It’s always best to pay for a high-quality pair of shoes, as they won’t wear out easily. It is also more likely that good quality shoes can be re-worn, swapped or donated, rather than ending up as rubbish.
Shoe Repair:
- Keep your shoes in use for longer by keeping them repaired and restored.
- Find a shoe repair shop near you here.
- DIY shoe repair.
- Sneakers/Runners:
- Sneakers can be repaired at your local shoe repair shop.
- Note that the soles of running shoes lose their integrity after a while and need to be replaced. Running on shoes that are too old can damage your feet.
- Sneaker restoration:
- JustForKicks.ie (Dublin)
- The Sneaker Surgery (Dublin)
End of life and recycling:
- Penneys operate a textile take-back scheme which accepts shoes. The scheme is run by Yellow Octopus who state that everything is recycled or re-used and nothing goes to landfill.
- Schuh and Clark’s accept old shoes, which are recycled through Recyclatex. Please note that Recyclatex partners include textile and shoe dealers who deal in second hand items which they export to developing countries for re-sale.
- If your shoes are in poor condition and can no longer be repaired, restored or donated to charity, they should be disposed of in your rubbish bin.