As many of you know…our landfills can be looked at not as just an out-of-control heap of garbage, but as a collection of opportunities to be regenerated.

Let’s look at tires…

In 2003, the US alone genersated about 290 million scrap tires.  Historically, they took an enormous amount of landfill and provided a breeding ground for mosquitos and rodents.

Fortunately, markets now exist for over 80% of this very durable waste product.  About 10% of this market makes products such as sneakers – yeah!         ( info: charityguide.org)

PET and Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles for drinking water are made of polethylene terepthalete (PET) which comes from crude oil.  It takes 1.5 milion barrels of oil per year to keep up with the US demand for water plastic bottles – yikes!  29 billion plastic H2O bottles end up in landfills which can take up to thousands of years to decompose.  Some shoe companies use this product recycled in the manufacturing of sneaker laces and other parts of their shoes– cool huh?     (Info: associatedcontent.com)

Carpet Pad

One billion pounds of foam carpet pad sit in our landfills too.  Shoe companies are using carpet pad…they figure we spend all day walking on it…why not just use it their products.  It’s durable, squishy and almost all pad used can be scrap or post-consumer foam.          (info: freelibrary.com and Simple Shoes)

Sustainablity…

Who wouldn’t choose to live life to it’s fullest!  With so many places to go and people to see we need energy and products to accomplish those tasks.  Of course many of us prefer natural products.  How can we make good choices when it comes to the use of those natural resources?

Bamboo

When I was in China, the bamboo was growning prolifically.  It’s the fastest growing plant in the world.  Bamboo is a grass and some types can grow into giant timbers over 100 feet tall.  It has been measured to grow 47 inches over a 24 hour time period – all without perticides.

The ancient Chinese such as Dao, Buddha and Confucious formed boundries of actually… with belief and knowledge that quality of life had a relationship with bamboo.  The study of life began with learning and ended with mastery…to study bamboo, master its modes, utility and  dimensions of beauty defined a lifetime well lived. So we see that bamboo is not only sustainable with it’s amazing rate of natural growth, but also philosophically too.  In sneakers, it helps reduce smells and is super plentiful.(info:  americanbamboo.org  and Simple Shoes)

Coconuts

The fibrous husk of the cocomut is used in a surprising number of ways and products…ropes, yarns, aquarium filters, car seat covers, flower pots, sound proofing, mulch for growning plants, heat insulation, bushes, bristles, mattresses, door matting, rugs, carpet and SNEAKERS.  The outer shell of the coconut is a pretty tough and woody material.  So if your sneaker has any buttons made of coconut shells, they are very cool because they are definitely renewable, plentiful and not edible!  (info: coconut.com and Simple Shoes)

Organic Cotton

We love cotton that is organically grown because it is very natural… non-genetically modified seed that is grown with out herbicides, persticides or chemical fertilizers.

When sneakers or made with certified organic cotton, you know that people who grow and harvest the cotton are not exposed to chemicals that are used to kill insects and rodents. You also can breath a little easier that less harmful substances are  being deposited into the water tables.  (info: Simple Shoes)