///CRADLE TO CRADLE

Written by Miranda Hoogervorst.

Although some old sneakers do smell as if they would do well in the compost bin, it surely is not a good idea to litter them into your garden. Glue, PVC and other poisonous materials will do no good to your fresh green lawn. Now here’s some great news for people who like to donate their shoes to the environment. Dirk-Jan Oudshoorn and Christiaan Maats of the Dutch company OAT Shoes have designed a sneaker that literally nurtures nature. As we speak, they are working on the launch of a 100% compostable, hip sneaker made from all natural ingredients. For this sneaker they were inspired by the cradle-to-cradle philosophy of Michael Braungart and William McDonough. Christiaan: “There are so many shoes in the world. But what do you do with them when they’re worn out? We wanted to make a comfortable, cool sneaker for urban people and we also wanted them to grow flowers at the end of their lives.” The sneakers of OAT Shoes will be totally composted a few months after you’ve buried them under a heap of soil. Nice gimmick: at the same spot a couple of sunflowers will appear (the shoes have got seeds in the label). If all goes well, the sneakers will be on the market by the end of this year. Keep an eye on the website of OAT Shoes. For people who don’t like sunflowers: daisies and snowdrops are also available. For Mother’s Day 2015 you’ll probably score with a bunch of old, smelly shoes!