The Real Impact of a Shoe Drive

Supporting Sustainability with Social Good Fundraisers

Have you ever wondered: What is sustainability? It could mean different things to different people. For us, it’s the commitment to supporting our local communities through socially responsible shoe drive fundraisers that raise needed funds. The shoes collected get redirected from landfills, helping the environment and providing families in developing nations with sustainable work opportunities.

When you join the reuse economy by doing or participating in a shoe drive fundraiser, here’s how you support the movement:

• You redirect shoes from adding to the more than 300 million pairs that clog up landfills yearly. Some shoes with polyurethane emit methane, which is more harmful and dangerous for the environment and people than carbon dioxide.
• Shoes contain a mix of materials and parts (leather, rubber, glue, textiles), making them very tough to recycle properly, which is why REUSE is the answer for sustainability and social responsibility.
• Burning or grinding shoes consumes more energy than getting them into the hands of communities that will reuse them. These activities require more energy—including energy for manufacturing new shoes—and often yield lower-quality materials (i.e., downcycling).