A glassy mousse-like mineral powder can insulate houses without using oil-based materials. Shoe soles, however, are still mainly composed of plastic.
Enter a Canadian startup aiming to cushion our steps sustainably while recycling a precious resource: wine corks. After years of research, its product is now ready to hit the market.
Both recycled corks and the waste from cork manufacture are shredded and shaped into stable but pliable shoe soles. The patented process sees 40 to 60 corks used depending on shoe type.
That’s roughly 75% of the total sole material. Aside from the wine industry, private citizens can also send in used corks to partner companies.
Now, how about a cork sole for an adaptable concept…
