Full Introduction
Have you ever wondered in where your shoes end up? Or if people actually end up recycling them or also know if they can even recycle them? Shoe manufacturing is an issue because many of us are blinded of the impacts it has. We mostly are ignorant to the fact that it does because of the way the shoe is represented to us and forget about all of its negative impacts. Shoes have a high carbon footprint of 60, which negatively impacts the environment, and these days our environment isn’t as great as it should be. Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, etc. “The researchers found that more than two-thirds of a running shoe’s carbon impact can come from manufacturing processes, with a smaller percentage arising from acquiring or extracting raw materials. This breakdown is expected for more complex products such as electronics, where the energy that goes into manufacturing fine, integrated circuits can outweigh the energy expended in processing raw materials. But for “less-advanced” products — particularly those that don’t require electronic components — the opposite is often the case.” This means that the materials don’t really have an impact it’s basically the factory in where it’s made.
I chose this fire project because I’m a shoe addict and I wanted to learn more about the way a shoe is manufactured and what I seen isn’t so great. This topic stood out to me the most because I was blinded as most people are of how of an impact shoes have. I really didn’t think of it as much until now because all I really cared about was purchasing the shoe and not really knowing too much about its whereabouts. This happens because all we care about is the new trends and being in style. It is very bad that we just throw out our shoes since some parts of the shoe takes time to decompose. “Old shoes occupy valuable landfill space and take a long time to decompose, so it’s crucial that we don’t throw them in the trash. A material called Ethylene Vinyl Acetate that is commonly found in the midsoles of running shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down." I find it interesting that not only do these shoes have a bad outcome on the environment but it also has a huge impact on the workers by the way that they are treated.
What I wish to accomplish through this project is awareness to those who love buying shoes into considering into recycling their shoes once they’re not using them. Since most of the time we tend to just throw them away in which then the shoe leads to be put in landfills. When the shoes is being recycled it can be used for many other resources, or can also be used to create a new version of a shoe without having to go throughout all that nonsense that impacts everything and everyone. There are solutions here in Chicago by going to recycling bins and putting all your shoes that you do not want anymore. Also, giving them out to those in need.
"Footwear's (carbon) Footprint." MIT News. Web. 26 May 2016.
"Blog." What Happens to Donated Footwear? Web. 26 May 2016.
I chose this fire project because I’m a shoe addict and I wanted to learn more about the way a shoe is manufactured and what I seen isn’t so great. This topic stood out to me the most because I was blinded as most people are of how of an impact shoes have. I really didn’t think of it as much until now because all I really cared about was purchasing the shoe and not really knowing too much about its whereabouts. This happens because all we care about is the new trends and being in style. It is very bad that we just throw out our shoes since some parts of the shoe takes time to decompose. “Old shoes occupy valuable landfill space and take a long time to decompose, so it’s crucial that we don’t throw them in the trash. A material called Ethylene Vinyl Acetate that is commonly found in the midsoles of running shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down." I find it interesting that not only do these shoes have a bad outcome on the environment but it also has a huge impact on the workers by the way that they are treated.
What I wish to accomplish through this project is awareness to those who love buying shoes into considering into recycling their shoes once they’re not using them. Since most of the time we tend to just throw them away in which then the shoe leads to be put in landfills. When the shoes is being recycled it can be used for many other resources, or can also be used to create a new version of a shoe without having to go throughout all that nonsense that impacts everything and everyone. There are solutions here in Chicago by going to recycling bins and putting all your shoes that you do not want anymore. Also, giving them out to those in need.
"Footwear's (carbon) Footprint." MIT News. Web. 26 May 2016.
"Blog." What Happens to Donated Footwear? Web. 26 May 2016.