Photo by Andrzej Gdula
Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program takes worn-out sneakers and turns them into Nike Grind, a material used in sports surfaces and playgrounds.
By Jessica A. Knoblauch
While we'd all love to wear flip flops until the snow comes, the cooler temperatures mean it's time for boots and full-coverage footwear. Fall sales are a good time to shop if you need new shoes, but there's no excuse for tossing even the scruffiest old shoes in the nearest garbage bin — and to overtaxed landfills.
There are a number of easy ways to give footwear a new life. If your athletic shoes have lost their bounce, Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program will take back and recycle any brand of athletic shoe. Just run your shoes over to the nearest Nike store or mail them to Nike’s recycling center in Oregon. Or check out this site for more places to send sneakers out to pasture.
Kids outgrow shoes faster than hermit crabs cast off shells, and often these are lightly worn. Sometimes even older people discover that they need a larger size. Donate lightly worn shoes of all sizes to families in need via souls4souls.org.
If your Crocs have curdled, drop them in the nearest SolesUnited location where they’ll be recycled into new Crocs that are donated to people in need.
Have a closet full of the fancier heels or dress shoes? You’ve got options. Lightly used dress shoes can be donated to the Cinderella Project, a nonprofit that provides gowns and accessories for prom night to girls in need.
Alternatively, consider gathering friends and family member who wear your size to do a shoe swap. It’s a great way to get rid of one pair of shoes while cheaply obtaining another.
And if none of these options work for you, check out Earth 911 for a drop-off donation center near you.
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