SUSTAINABLE SNEAKER RE-DESIGN
This project was part of a final year module in Loughborough Design School. The brief was to redesign the common sneaker to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
​
Sneakers have an environmental footprint. My challenge was to design a better sneaker for a less-polluted tomorrow. To identify which issues to tackle throughout this project extensive research and life-cycle analysis was undertaken.
​
I decided to design a modular shoe that could act as a regular sneaker and a steel toe sneaker. Being a student in STEM I regularly have to change into my steel toe shoes to enter the workshops throughout my week. This requires two separate pairs of shoes and time and effort to change the shoes. My proposal has a detachable toe that the user can swap in and out to change the shoes purpose.
This solution already improves the sustainable aspect of the shoes as it reduces two pairs of shoes into one. I also wanted to focus on the materials and transport aspects.
​
Several Carbon Footprint analyses were undertaken and can be seen in the link below. My solution utilises environmentally friendly and sustainable materials that are recycled such as rubber, cotton, cork and EVA foam padding.
​
The shoe upper and tongue are made from a vegan leather called Pinatex which is made from recycled pineapple leaves. This material is durable and extends the longevity of the product meaning that the shoes will not need to be replaced as often as similar shoes on the market.
