EP55 - Rethinking Waste: Old Footwear to New Flooring with John Elliott

Welcome to Episode 55 of the Sustainable Ecommerce Podcast!

https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep55

This week’s show is the fourth one in our mini series on rethinking waste. 

So far we’ve touched on ocean plastic and how Plastic Bank is rethinking that as a resource is generating significant social and economic opportunity. And we’ve looked at mechanical recycling of textiles with Upparel, and how they are actively stitching together supply chains for the recycled fibre, then chemical recycling with Blocktexx where blends are being split out and turned into new PET chips and organic paste to be used in soil regeneration projects.

So today we move onto footwear.  110 million pairs of shoes are imported into Australia every year, and basically without rethinking used footwear as a resource, they all end in landfill.   My guest today has been spearheading the recycling of shoes since 2010 and I think you will agree has an extraordinary depth of experience and pedigree in the business-for-good movement. 

John Elliott is the founder of Save Our Soles, they’re the organisation behind every shoe collection box you maybe have seen or used at stores like Foot Locker, Rebel Sport and just about everyone else.

We learn about the Save our Soles process in today’s show, but with John’s deep industry experience I found the whole conversation fascinating, even if it does get a little philosophical in places.