Converse launches a new pair of crushed velvet sneakers, just in time for the holidays, and the silhouette is elegant and eye-catching. The model, however, goes beyond looks as it was entirely made out of old, discarded clothes. In order to achieve this, Converse partnered with the British vintage retailer Beyond Retro. The two companies collected "more than 500 pounds of velvet and transformed it into thousands of pairs of sneakers."
These collaborations for upcycled fashion come at a time when "the world is drowning in clothes" and companies in the industries are looking for ways to curb their own waste. Converse revealed that its innovation team "has been trying to figure out how to make sneakers from discarded clothes that already exist on the market" over the course of the last five years.
Image Credit: Converse
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Upcycled Footwear
- Companies can innovate by producing footwear made from old, discarded clothes in order to reduce waste.
- Circular Fashion
- Circular fashion can disrupt the traditional fashion industry by promoting the use of recycled materials in the production of new clothes.
- Sustainable Collaborations
- Collaborations between companies in different industries can create opportunities for producing sustainable fashion products from recycled materials.
Where This Applies
- Fashion Industry
- Fashion companies can benefit from producing sustainable products from recycled materials, helping to reduce waste and meet the increasing demands of environmentally-conscious consumers.
- Retail Industry
- Retailers can support sustainable initiatives by partnering with companies that offer upcycled products made from discarded clothing materials.
- Textile Industry
- The textile industry can explore opportunities to use eco-friendly materials in the production of textiles, in order to align themselves with sustainable practices and meet consumer demand for cruelty-free production processes.
