As awareness of plastic pollution in the ocean grows, so too do the imaginations of those working to capture and recycle it into everyday goods. GreenPlax takes a holistic approach to upcycled footwear as the world’s first shoe in which every major component is made from repurposed ocean plastic.
The team behind GreenPlax is focused specifically on water bottles, with 15 of them going into each pair of shoes. The bottles are retrieved, sorted and cleaned before they are shredded into tiny pieces. These are fashioned into neat pellets which are melted down and converted into fibers, which in turn can be spun into threads and woven into fabric.
This fabric is then used to craft the GreenPlax shoe’s upper and its lining, while a separate process mixes the pellets with high-quality ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) to produce the high-performance outsole. Piece it all together with an insole from OrthoLite and you have complete shoe with the insole liner, outsoles and uppercasing all made with the help of recycled plastics.
GreenPlax has put its shoe through a robust series of tests to ensure it is water repellent, durable, breathable and comfortable, while it also offers UV protection and odor-control. The outsole is made up of more than 100 cubes that make it four-way flexible, so it can match the contours of your feet as they move in all directions, deliver excellent grip on a range of different surfaces, and put a real spring in your step. The sole also features a micro-honeycomb structure to keep the weight to a minimum.
Always green at heart, GreenPlax shoes are available in 10 different color schemes including blue, olive, pink, black, white and a number with chessboard patterns across the sole. Find out how you can get your feet into a set of these eco-friendly sneakers at a discount price by visiting the GreenPlax site.
These seriously versatile shoes are made from ocean-bound plastic [New Atlas]