For the first time ever, a safety shoe has been recycled into usable textile fiber in Finland.

The recycling trial was done in cooperation with Rester Oy, a Finnish company providing textile recycling solutions. In Rester’s own facility, the discarded textiles are converted back into textile fiber — i.e., the raw material for new textile products — using a mechanical process.

Rester eagerly joined the pilot experiment despite its challenges: the construction and textiles used in safety footwear make them difficult to recycle — and there was no industry precedent in Finland for doing so.

The challenges with recycling safety shoes.

For everyday (non-safety) footwear, there are many options for extending a shoe’s life. Used shoes can be resold, they can be repaired, or they can be refurbished with new uppers or new soles.

For safety footwear, the possibilities are more limited because safety shoes are certified safety products. The user must change shoes regularly to prevent their safety features from degrading.

The safety shoe brand JALAS decided to do a pilot experiment, in which they collected waste from the production in their factory in Finland, as well as surplus fabrics, to be recycled at the company Rester. The goal of the experiment was to determine if the uppers of used safety footwear could be recycled back into textile fiber.

Successful experiment.

The experiment was a success: JALAS personnel watched as the waste and surplus fabrics from the safety footwear manufacturing process were converted into usable textile fiber.

Another factor is that the recycling took place only 300 km from the JALAS factory. This means that the environmental impact from transport can be kept to a minimum.

The experiment is one part of JALAS long term activity plan to secure that they drive their sustainability agenda.

The next step is to find out what further use the fiber material is suitable for. This pilot experiment is a step forward towards sustainable development that reduces the load on the Earth and conserves natural resources in accordance with circular economy principles. In addition, creating value from waste can be part of a profitable business plan.

It’s amazing to be a pioneer as an experimenter of the possibilities of recycling discarded safety footwear, says Aino Aarnio-Juurinen, Innovation and Research Specialist at JALAS in Jokipii Finland.

For more information contact:

Ulrika Hallberg, Marketing & Communications Director

Phone: +46 (0)73 041 79 81, e-mail ulrika.hallberg@ejendals.com>