Shoe Bring Back
In the long run, our main mission is to make sure all shopping decisions are conscious ones. It matters that you only buy what you really love. It also matters how you pass your used products forward. Thanks to new innovations, used shoes now can be recycled.
Closing the Loop
Prolonging the life of our fashion garments is the foundation for sustainable consumption. In our initiative Shoe Bring Back, we work with German I:Collect, a system for reusing and safely recycling shoes. The aim is for still usable shoes to be re-distributed to second-hand shops and for worn-out shoes to become new raw materials.
A challenge in shoe consumption is that shoes that still have more to give end up as household garbage. This project begins by taking all shoes that are still wearable to the I:Collect factory. The second step is to make sure that worn-out shoes can become new material. The technique to recycle textile materials is already well established, but due to the vast number of different components, no similar efficient method has previously existed for shoes. We are now a part of a pilot project with I:Collect, where recycling is enabled thanks to innovations.
Step-by-step guide
Shoe Bring Back is available in all Vagabond Stores in Sweden, Finland, and Germany. Our step-by-step guide makes it easy for you to bring your shoes back for reuse or recycling.
1. Find your local Vagabond store
Finland
Helsinki, Forum Shopping Mall
Helsinki, Kamppi Shopping Mall
Germany
Berlin, Münzstrasse 18
Sweden
Stockholm, Sergelgången 16
Göteborg, Kungsgatan 45
Varberg, Birger Svensson väg 36
2. Hand in your ready-for-recycling shoes
Your shoes can become new shoes to someone else or be recycled. When contributing with your shoes, you will be rewarded with a 5€ discount voucher for each bag of shoes you submit. Preferably your bag contains at least two complete pairs of shoes. You are welcome to leave any style or brand — not just Vagabond.
3. The shoes will be sorted out for reuse or recycling
All shoes collected will be sent to the I:Collect in Germany, where the first step is to sort all products. Still wearable shoes are sorted out and re-distributed to second-hand shops to extend the product's lifetime.
The second step is to make sure that worn-out shoes can be recycled and become new material.
For each kilogram of collected shoes, Vagabond receives 0,50€. This money is re-invested in our efforts to improve the recyclability of our products and to reduce the chemical input in the shoe-making process.
1. Find your local Vagabond Store
Finland
Helsinki, Forum Shopping Mall
Helsinki, Kamppi Shopping Mall
Germany
Berlin, Münzstrasse 18
Sweden
Stockholm, Sergelgången 16
Göteborg, Kungsgatan 45
Varberg, Birger Svensson väg 36
2. Hand in your ready-for-recycling shoes
Your shoes can become new shoes to someone else or be recycled. When contributing with your shoes, you will be rewarded with a 5€ discount voucher for each bag of your ready-for-recycling shoes you submit. Preferably your bag contains at least two complete pairs of shoes. You are welcome to leave any style or brand — not just Vagabond.
3. The shoes will be sorted out for reuse or recycling
All shoes collected will be sent to the I:Collect in Germany, where the first step is to sort all products. Still wearable shoes are sorted out and re-distributed to second-hand shops to extend the product's lifetime. The second step is to make sure that worn-out shoes can be recycled and become new material.
For each kilogram of collected shoes, Vagabond receives 0,50€. This money is re-invested in our efforts to improve the recyclability of our products and to reduce the chemical input in the shoe-making process.
