ReBoots

The message of the project

It was a coincidence that the dedicated, environmentally conscious owner of a shoe manufactory met a designer looking for new ways after the pandemic. The history of fashion has reached a point - following a worldwide problem, which was not just a health issue - that begins with the redefinition of the industry. Slowing down the speed of fashion alone is not enough and it is not in the interest of many, but perhaps a process will begin that will lead to a positive change by reinterpreting old values, re-evaluating the work of people and appreciating our dying environment. It was those issues that guided thoughts while developing the project product range. The fate of used tires that accumulated over the decades as a result of car use is a major problem of today, from which Europe is trying to get rid of with more or less success through various pieces of legislation. Approximately 20% of the amount of tire waste is recycled.

The idea behind the project

The project idea was leaded by a forgotten project, which main aim was the use of tires that were scrapped by the factory. Their supplier uses a self-developed method to produce a surface that can be used - among other things - as a shoe sole from waste. The speciality of the process is that - in contrast to other technologies, where the tire is first completely destroyed and then selected to its components - here the rubber part of the tread is peeled off.

After that the shape of the sole can be easily punched from the resulting strip of rubber.

The first sample was a classic, meticulously crafted masterpiece made of beautiful cowhide, of which sole is a never-used tire that still shows small rubber hairs. Continuing this idea, they were also looking for recycled or otherwise environmentally friendly materials for the upper of the footwear. Destruction or recycling of empty PET bottles is perhaps an even bigger and faster growing problem than car tires. Plenty of such waste also pollutes our seas as well. Some environmentally conscious companies make polyester-based textiles from these already accumulated wastes that are not harmful to human skin, and which they also used in some pieces of the collection. The project was also thinking of those buyers who refuse products of animal origin, some shoes meet vegan standards too.

The motto is 100,000 km wear life guarantee on the sole, provided by the tires.

The products are 100% made in Hungary, produced in a small manufactory, by local labor, under suitable working conditions. The project goal is to maintain these conditions, and in the future will strive to further reduce the ecological footprint of products. They are open-minded and looking for new opportunities in the field of recycling that can be combined with their shoe sole solution which they think is the main line. As an alternative, the project has also started preparations for a collection that utilizes the tread of tires already used on the road.

What next?

The project target group is primarily the environmentally conscious customer, for whom quality is important, who likes a clean design world, yet follows the trends and, last but not least, pays attention to the fact that the product she/he buys is made under humane conditions of work. On the future sales surface of the footwear, they would like to make all this transparent, as well as number the individual pieces, thus adding even more value to them. The sample product range includes men ankle boots in cowhide, unisex sneakers and slippers made of vegan leather and recycled textiles, as well as women sandals made of the materials listed previously. In the future the project would like to expand and shape the collection according to the reinterpretation of slow fashion.