Green Gauntlet: Shoes that can be recycled

Shoe waste is a terrible thing.

All those feet in the world, needing protection, and we often just toss our old ones.

There are, of course, thrift stores that take donations of second-hand shoes. But now, a Georgia company has come up with recyclable shoes.

So we'll run them through this week's reader participation feature, the Green Gauntlet, to see if they pass public muster.

The shoes are Okabashi Brands, a family owned business based in Buford, Ga., (about 35 miles north of Atlanta). For about 25 years, as they focused on designing and manufacturing extremely comfortable shoes, they also worked on coming up with a material that is comfortable, durable and recyclable.

They've come up with a line of flip-flops, slides, clogs and other styles.  The shoe is made of up to 30 percent recycled materials, which for now are old Okabashi shoes that customers have sent back when they're worn out.

Don't want to send them back? They're made of No. 3 plastic, which means that in most of this area, they can also be put into the curbside bin. (To be sure, check here: http://1800recycling.com/

Other companies have done similar things. For instance, Nike has a program, and their shoes get ground up and then become everything from sneaker soles to running tracks to "the zipper on your hoodie," the company says. But I haven't found any that take their shoe back and make it into the SAME shoe.

And just you wait. Okabashi is working on ways to take back all kinds of shoes, from red patent-leather spike heels to work boots, and recycle them. Obviously, with the range of materials involved and the company's "virtually" zero waste policy -- which means they have to somehow use ALL the sent-back shoes, and not just some of the parts -- this is a tad more complicated.

"It is Okabashi's objective to limit the amount of shoes and waste being dumped into the earth's oceans and landfills and to continually decrease our use of natural resources," the company states. "The result: this year alone we were able to reintroduce and reuse over 100,000 lbs of scrap shoes. That is 10 tractor trailers full of scrap that would have otherwise be sent to a landfill."

Since they're made domestically -- in Georgia -- they don't have to cross an ocean to get to you.

I thought the shoes looked attractive. The company boasts boast superior arch support, a massaging insole and more. They're "vegan friendly."

My persnickety friend, Sylvie Verdant, did not dismiss them out of hand, which is saying something. In fact, I suspect she was even impressed, although she stubbornly refused to admit it.

After all, she does wear shoes, especially clogs, although I'm not sure what they're made of most of the time. And not to put too fine a point on it, but they do get pretty worn as she stomps around, alternately bird watching and scouting riverbanks for evidence of polluters. She could use an excuse to upgrade to a new pair from time to time.

We both loved the company mantra: Flip-flops belong on your feet, not in landfills.

They're not even expensive. A pair I liked was on sale for $14.99.

Wow! A nod from Sylvie? Can it be?

And now it's YOUR turn to weigh in on our weekly Green Gauntlet. Check out their recycling page and let us know in the comments section below what you think of Okabashis.