Awhile ago I contacted IPath to see if my hemp shoes are compostable. I kinda forgot about it, and they didn’t return my call…that’s okay. Being a shoe company with a hippie aesthetic, I figured this inquiry wouldn’t be out of the question…however I probably sounded like a heckler.
These shoes are insanely comfortable, but of course they aren’t as durable as other materials.
The plan, as you may remember, was to cut the hemp upper off of the rubber sole, grind it up and compost it.
I called earlier this week, and I got into a lengthy chat with the dude. He said he spoke with the manufacturer, and they advised against composting them. I was right – the dyes in the shoe contain something sketchy.
It’s all how you word it. All the word he received was that they were not suitable to compost…not specifying what made them unsuitable. It didn’t seem to cross his mind to ask that.
Although I don’t expect a call back, I requested that he ask the manufacturer what exactly makes them no good, and why that can’t change.
A shoe that you can compost sounds like a great new marketing concept to me. Several shoe companies have marketed shoes that have been made from scraps, and Nike started a program with recycling rubber to use in basketball courts, gyms, playgrounds, etc.
I’m sure it would be difficult to get shoes to degrade, but it’s definitely doable and something that should be considered. I mean, why not?