Imagine a world where shoes don’t just end up in landfills but get a second, third, or even fourth life, and afterwards are broken down into mono-material components, which are recycled for a new shoe. That’s the idea behind circularity — a less impactful way of making and using products. Circularity can be described as a regenerative approach to production that moves away from the traditional “take-make-waste” model: instead of relying on finite resources and creating waste, circular systems aim to reduce dependence on virgin materials, design products for longevity, and establish pathways for reuse, repair, and recycling. 

FOOTWEAR & CIRCULARITY: THE IMPORTANCE OF A UNIFIED APPROACH

Currently, there is no single, universally accepted definition of “footwear circularity”. Why? The industry is incredibly diverse, comprising a wide range of materials, production methods, and stakeholders, each presenting its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. This complexity makes it challenging to develop a universal framework for circularity in footwear. As a result, brands and manufacturers have adopted varying interpretations of “circularity,” leading to inconsistencies in design, production, and recycling practices. The lack of a shared understanding has hindered the development of effective, scalable solutions and slowed the sector’s adoption of innovation. In fact, compared to apparel, the footwear industry has been lagging in implementing transformative advancements. 

Despite this challenge, at its core, the simplified concept of footwear circularity revolves around three main goals: keeping footwear in use for as long as possible, decarbonising production and minimising waste. Ultimately, the aim is to create a closed-loop system where footwear is not only built to last but can also be repaired when needed and eventually recycled. 

To achieve this, footwear circularity encompasses three essential aspects:

• Repair by performing simple repairs or replacing worn-out components (like soles or uppers). 
• Durability is about using safe material inputs and designing for longevity, ensuring that footwear remains high-quality and long-lasting. This extends the product’s lifespan for the first customer while also enabling second-life opportunities through resale or charitable donations. By diverting footwear from landfills, durability not only reduces waste but also provides others with access to quality products at a lower cost.
• Recycling, meaning the collection of post-consumer footwear, which is then sorted based on category, material, or construction. After sorting, shoes undergo disassembly, and their components are processed through mechanical and/or chemical recycling methods, transforming them into new materials for future production.

WHY DO WE URGENTLY NEED CIRCULAR APPROACHES IN FOOTWEAR?

Unlike clothing, shoes (not just trainers, but all types of shoes) are made of a lot of different materials, with studies counting +60 components¹. This makes footwear extremely challenging to recycle, contributing to the staggering figure of 23.8 billion pairs of shoes ending up in landfills annually². 

To address this complexity, the industry must focus on two key areas:

• A pathway for footwear industry leaders could be to prioritise designs that enhance recyclability and durability while still considering performance, aesthetics, and cost. Taking into account the recyclability of the footwear in the design phase can lead to products that are easier to disassemble and repurpose, reducing overall waste.
• The diverse materials used in shoes necessitate infrastructure capable of properly managing and recycling these various components. This includes developing robust systems for collection, sorting, and recycling to ensure that materials can be processed and repurposed efficiently. Without such infrastructure in place, the goal of creating a circular economy in footwear remains very elusive: we need spaces where discarded footwear can be properly collected, assessed, and disassembled, allowing materials to be recovered.

 
HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TOWARDS A MORE CIRCULAR FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY?

To transition towards a more circular footwear industry, collaboration across the entire value chain is essential. While the industry has already made progress, with groundbreaking innovations driving the shift towards circularity, the focus in the coming years should be on refining and scaling these efforts to ensure a more circular system can take place. Here are key areas where continued action is crucial:

• Establish a standardised definition of footwear circularity that encompasses four core components: materials, recyclability, durability, and infrastructure to enable circulation. Involving a diverse range of industry stakeholders — including brands, manufacturers, recyclers, material suppliers, collectors & sorters, but also testing laboratories, researchers, and policymakers — is essential for developing this framework. This standardised definition will not only provide clarity for consumers but also facilitate innovation in the industry, enabling companies to make informed decisions about design, production, and marketing while allowing for the measurement of progress toward circularity goals.
• Design and innovate for circularity: Innovations in materials such as those being explored by Fashion for Good innovators like Balena and FastFeet Grinded, as well as advancements in end-of-use sorting solutions from Fashion for Good innovators like Picvisa, circular.fashion and companies like The 8 Impact, are supporting the transition towards more circular footwear systems.
• Develop reverse logistics infrastructure, which refers to the process of moving goods from the final consumer back to the manufacturer, retailer, or another location for returns, recycling, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or disposal. “Reverse logistics” is the opposite of traditional supply chain logistics (which focuses on moving products from suppliers to consumers) and is critical for efficient circular footwear systems.
• Engage consumers in circularity efforts: consumers can play a massive role in advancing footwear circularity – when individuals ask for options to repair their shoes instead of discarding them, they not only can greatly reduce waste and promote a culture of circularity but also send a strong signal to brands and manufacturers about the demand for circular practices, influencing them to provide accessible options for repair and recycling of footwear. 

TOP THREE LEARNINGS

• Lack of standardisation hinders progress – without a universal definition of circularity, the industry faces inconsistencies in design, production, and recycling.
• Design & infrastructure – durable, recyclable shoes and better collection, sorting, and recycling systems – are key to closing the loop.
• Collaboration drives tangible change – industry alignment and consumer demand for repairable, recyclable footwear are essential for change.