Converse represents some of the most iconic originally-for-basketball footwear. Since the company’s founding over a 100 years ago, these canvas sneakers have made their way from basketball courts to the streets – which is a common occurrence among the most popular silhouettes. In recent years, the Massachusetts brand also jumped on the wave of sustainability with the Converse Renew product line. If you’re wondering how you can improve on an already timeless sneaker, the answer is simple – materials. Let’s take a look at what Converse Renew has shown us so far.
Life’s too short to waste
The Converse Renew initiative debuted in July 2017 – the collection’s motto was “Life’s too short to waste”. And as far as sustainability goes, Converse recycled plastic bottles to manufacture 100% polyester, which was used to create the sneaker’s upper and shoelaces.
A second chance for denim
Just four months later, Converse presented their second collection focused on sustainability. This time, they explored the possibilities of upcycling. Converse bought all of British vintage second hand Beyond Retro’s jeans that would otherwise end up in the trash, cut them up and made uppers out of them for the Chuck Taylor 70 silhouette. Same as before, the laces were made from recycled plastic bottles.
Eco-friendly cotton
Another material utilized by Converse is previously-used cotton. While the laces were, again, made out of recycled plastic, the earth-toned uppers contained upwards of 30% recycled cotton material.
One “Crater” ahead
Earlier this year, Nike presented its new Space Junk foam technology, and since Nike and Converse are both part of the same family, they shared the innovation. Thanks to this, we now have the Converse Craters, which feature Space Junk technology and, on top of that, updated features of the Chuck 70’s which are also made from less materials. This is how Converse, along with Nike, aim to keep up their promise of removing their carbon footprint from the equation completely.
40 % of the model is made from recycled materials, making it the most sustainable in Converse’s portfolio. It’s imperfect-perfection aesthetic might just form the future Renew collections.
