Someone Has Designed Sneakers with Soles Made from Used Chewing Gum

The shoe offers an innovative solution to The Netherlands' costly gum litter problem.
Libby Curran
April 28, 2018

Lately, the world has seen all sorts of weird and wonderful shoe creations, from sneakers made from recycled ocean plastic to beer-proof kicks to those chicken-and-waffles-inspired Nikes. But this latest sneaker design find might just be the strangest yet, with some bright sparks in Amsterdam crafting a shoe with soles made from chewing gum collected from the city's streets.

Dubbed Gumshoe, it's a collaboration between companies Gum-tec and Publicis One, plus local shoe brand Explicit Wear, and it's out to stomp all over The Netherlands' costly chewing gum problem. Apparently, the country's streets rack up around 1.5 million kilograms of the stuff each year, creating the second biggest litter issue after cigarettes.

The Gumshoe sole features a special kind of rubber crafted from used gum that's been recycled into a sustainable material. They're available in black or hot pink, with a map of Amsterdam stamped into each sole.

On Gumshoe's website, Mustafa Tanriverdi, from Marketing and Investments, Amsterdam Metropolitan Area said, "with these shoes, we take a step closer towards gum-free streets and at the same time create awareness amongst gum users without being preachy."

If you fancy a pair of gum-based kicks for your own feet, head over to the Explicit Wear website.

Via Designboom

Published on April 28, 2018 by Libby Curran
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