We all own shoes. Many of us sneakers, also called “sneakers”. A new pair of sneakers is quickly bought, worn out sneakers are quickly disposed of. Many manufacturers tout the sustainability of their products and that everything is disposed of and recycled cleanly and safely. But the reality is different.
On the initiative of Andrea Jelic from the MIT team at INTEGRA Filder e.V., participants of the MIT training on March 12 dealt with the question of where sneakers come from and how and where old sneakers are recovered or recycled. For this purpose, two films of the ARD were timed, the “Sneaker Hunt”. The journalists asked celebrities for old sneakers, which were given for recycling in the stores of well-known manufacturers and fashion chains. The shoes were previously fitted with a small mobile phone transmitter with a GPS signal, so that the path of the shoes could be tracked.
Both films triggered a lot of reaction and consternation. All the sneakers shown ended up in landfills or in shoe markets in countries of the global south. There was no recycling of the raw materials or environmentally sound disposal.
This event of the MIT practical phase helped to strengthen the students’ own environmental awareness and to critically question their own consumption and purchasing behavior.