Footwear Futures – mapping secondhand shoe flows

AI Quick Summary

While collecting, reusing, and recycling clothing and other textiles is already challenging, shoes present even greater difficulties. Their complex multi-material composition makes recycling particularly difficult. At the same time, there is an export market for second-hand Swiss shoes, especially in lower-income countries—but its size, demand patterns, and long-term viability remain unclear. To design an effective and efficient EPR scheme for footwear, it is essential to understand the potential and dynamics of the second-hand shoe market.     Under the revised Waste Framework Directive, EU Member States must implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles, including footwear. The newly established association FabricLoop aims to create a Swiss EPR system aligned with leading European models. Therefore, shoes must be considered part of the used textile collection in Switzerland in line with the circular economy.   Challenge: While collecting, reusing, and recycling clothing and other textiles is already challenging, shoes present even greater difficulties. Their complex multi-material composition makes recycling particularly difficult. At the same time, there is an export market for second-hand Swiss shoes, especially in lower-income countries—but its size, demand patterns, and long-term viability remain unclear. To design an effective and efficient EPR scheme for footwear, it is essential to understand the potential and dynamics of the second-hand shoe market.     Proposed approach: ·        Investigation of the international second-hand shoe trade through interviews with the aim of identifying criteria for the reuse of shoes and ultimately, to avoid the export of waste (shoes that can no longer be worn). ·        Quantify and forecast demand for second-hand shoes from Switzerland, providing a data-driven basis for setting EPR-aligned collection targets, refining sorting specifications, and determining optimal downstream pathways (reuse, repair, recycling, or energy recovery).  

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Footwear Futures – mapping secondhand shoe flows
• Date: 8/28/2025 12:32:43 PM
• Administrators:
  • Maja Wiprächtiger

Project Idea Description

Under the revised Waste Framework Directive, EU Member States must implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles, including footwear. The newly established association FabricLoop aims to create a Swiss EPR system aligned with leading European models. Therefore, shoes must be considered part of the used textile collection in Switzerland in line with the circular economy.

Challenge:

While collecting, reusing, and recycling clothing and other textiles is already challenging, shoes present even greater difficulties. Their complex multi-material composition makes recycling particularly difficult. At the same time, there is an export market for second-hand Swiss shoes, especially in lower-income countries—but its size, demand patterns, and long-term viability remain unclear.

To design an effective and efficient EPR scheme for footwear, it is essential to understand the potential and dynamics of the second-hand shoe market.

Proposed approach:

·        Investigation of the international second-hand shoe trade through interviews with the aim of identifying criteria for the reuse of shoes and ultimately, to avoid the export of waste (shoes that can no longer be worn).

·        Quantify and forecast demand for second-hand shoes from Switzerland, providing a data-driven basis for setting EPR-aligned collection targets, refining sorting specifications, and determining optimal downstream pathways (reuse, repair, recycling, or energy recovery).

While collecting, reusing, and recycling clothing and other textiles is already challenging, shoes present even greater difficulties. Their complex multi-material composition makes recycling particularly difficult. At the same time, there is an export market for second-hand Swiss shoes, especially in lower-income countries—but its size, demand patterns, and long-term viability remain unclear.

To design an effective and efficient EPR scheme for footwear, it is essential to understand the potential and dynamics of the second-hand shoe market.