A circular economy for footwear

Investigating how the circular economy works and its application for the footwear industry.

by Nicola Pichel-Juan

Since the industrial revolution which began in the mid-18th century, the world has operated to a linear economy model of ‘take a make a waste’. This involves resources such as oil being extracted to produce raw materials which, in turn, are used to manufacture finished products. The products are then transported to the point of sale and sold to the final consumer. When these products reach the end of their useful life or are no longer needed or wanted, they are often discarded, with the majority being sent to landfill or incinerated.

This approach is not sustainable and has an enormous impact on the environment, while contributing to huge challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, waste and pollution. It is therefore essential that all industries work to transition away from a linear economy to a circular economy model.

The principles of a circular economy are that it i) eliminates waste and pollution, ii) circulates products and materials (at their highest value), and iii) regenerates nature. This not only tackles the challenges mentioned above but also decouples economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.

A key misconception about the circular economy is that it simply means that materials and products can be recycled. However, it is much more than that, as this article will explain.

The butterfly diagram

‘The butterfly diagram’ for the circular economy (shown in figure 1) was developed by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation – a UK-registered charity – and is used to visually represent the key concepts of the circular economy. It has two sides, termed ‘biological cycle’ and ‘technical cycle’, which when put together are said to resemble the two wings of a butterfly.

Biological cycle

The biological cycle is used for materials that can biodegrade and safely return to the earth. This includes items that are consumed, such as food, but can also be used for other natural materials such as cotton, wood and leather. These materials may make their way from the technical cycle (described later) to the biological cycle once they have degraded to a point where they can no longer be used to make new products.

The concept is that items cascade through from the inner to the outer loops of the cycle. For example, by-products from the food industry could be used to make new materials, and waste from the (human) food industry could be used to make animal feed. The intention is that eventually all items in this cycle will safely return to the soil.

Initially it may not appear that the biological cycle is relevant to footwear. Nevertheless, there is an obvious increase in companies incorporating natural, bio-based materials into their products. This change is being driven by a desire to move away from materials derived from fossil fuels that are seen as more polluting and harmful to the environment. Additionally, work is being undertaken to investigate how products made from bio-based materials can be collected and safely returned to the earth at the end of their use.

Technical cycle

The technical cycle of the butterfly diagram is intended for products that are ‘used’ rather than ‘consumed.’ The inner loops of the cycle are where more of the embedded value of a product can be retained. For example, a functioning smartphone is worth more than the sum of its individual parts. If it is broken down into its parts, the time and energy that were invested in producing the phone itself are lost. From the perspective of the circular economy, the inner loops of the technical cycle (where an item is shared, maintained and reused) should be prioritised over the outer loops, that see products being broken down and remade. In this system, the outer loop of recycling is the last resort.

There are companies in the footwear industry which are already adopting principles of the circular economy. These include the following:

Sharing – there is a small but growing trend for consumers to rent clothing, footwear and accessories. This is particularly for items required for special occasions, where otherwise the consumer might purchase something that would only be worn a handful of times. Renting an item increases the number of times it is worn and may also give consumers the opportunity to wear something that they would not otherwise be able to afford or justify purchasing.

Maintaining – resulting from both financial and environmental concerns, consumers are starting to take more care of their shoes by regularly cleaning and maintaining them. In the past, this would have focused on maintaining and polishing leather uppers. However, the very idea of maintenance is now also being adopted for casual shoes and trainers (sneakers).

There are videos that have millions of views available on social media platforms showing trainers being cleaned. This interest provides opportunities for footwear companies to increase consumer engagement and generate new revenue streams. They can provide guidance on how best to maintain their products and by selling the creams, polishes, brushes and other items that are required to perform the maintenance.

Reusing – the resale of worn clothing and footwear is on an upward trajectory. In a report published by the resale platform ThredUp, it is estimated that the value of global second-hand apparel market will reach USD 350 billion by 2028. Such growth would be three times faster than the overall global apparel market. In a 2024 report by the consultancy Retail Economics, it was stated that 71 per cent of consumers in the UK had either bought or sold used goods in the previous year. Of these, 63 per cent of shoppers had purchased at least once a month.

These sales are happening through ‘traditional’ charity stores and online platforms such as Vinted, Depop, eBay, and ThredUp. There are even examples of retailers setting up re-sale areas for ‘pre-loved’ items within their stores, as well as selling them on their e-commerce sites.

Redistributing products is another way in which waste can be avoided. If a product is not selling in one market or area, it could be redistributed to another place where it may be more likely to be sold. Modern stock and order management systems can be used to support sales optimisation and efficient stock distribution across multiple channels such as e-commerce and retail stores, as well as geographic locations.

The remanufacturing of footwear goes further than repair and maintenance activities. It is relevant to any products that cannot remain in use in their current state and need more extensive work to make them wearable again. This could be, for example by replacing outsoles, cleaning the uppers and replacing shoelaces. The intention would be that the refurbished or remanufactured shoes could end up in an ‘as-new’ condition, offering the same level of performance as a newly purchased item.

Repair, refurbishment and recycling of footwear

Historically, services for the repair and refurbishment of footwear concentrated on men’s dress shoes and women’s high-heeled shoes, with outsole and heel top-piece replacements being offered. However, services are now available for a much wider range of products, including casual footwear. These refurbishment schemes are often managed by the footwear brands themselves, or through a partnership with a specialist repair company. The repairs are made with the same components, machinery and processes as used in the original production site. Offering such schemes also presents another opportunity to increase brand loyalty, as well as providing an additional income stream.

Recycling footwear is challenging. Most footwear is manufactured from multiple materials and components that are glued and/or stitched together in such a way that they cannot easily be separated from each other. To facilitate recycling, it may be necessary to reduce the number of materials used and to make the shoes easier to disassemble. This approach may not be suitable for all types of footwear, and it must be carefully balanced with the need to ensure that the footwear is still durable and does not prematurely fail in wear.

For footwear that was not designed and manufactured for a particular end-of-life solution, there has in recent years been considerable progress in separating it into its constituent materials and components at scale. This was covered in more detail in the article ‘Has an end-of-life solution for footwear been found?’ published in the 2024 SATRA Bulletin Sustainability Special.

This article has detailed ways in which footwear companies can transition to a more circular model. It is crucial that this process starts at the design phase, to enable the creation of products that are durable, repairable and provide an intended end-of-life solution.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 22 of the March 2025 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

Other articles from this issue »

---