13th edition of Refashion Innovation Challenge
Refashion's Innovation Challenge is back for its 13th edition! Find out more about the call for R&D projects and how to apply!
Footwear recycling
Recycling used footwear: meeting the challenges of a complex industry
The recycling of footwear is a lever of strategic importance in saving resources, reducing the sector’s environmental footprint and developing new industrial applications.
When reuse or repair are no longer options, recycling plays a key role in turning materials into resources and reinforcing a circular and economically viable industry.
Like clothing, footwear is a complex product, but its composition tends to be even more heterogeneous. Multiple materials (leather, textiles, elastomers, plastics, metals, etc.) and multi-layered components make sorting and recovery more difficult.
Rigorous upstream sorting and precise knowledge of footwear composition are therefore essential to speed up the identification of materials for efficient industrial recycling.
Read on to find out more!
Footwear recycling today
Shoes are complex products, and soles in particular raise a real challenge in recycling owing to the diversity of their materials used (elastomers, rubber, plastics, composites) and their multi-layer composition.
To better understand existing solutions and contribute to the development of efficient processing channels, Refashion has conducted an in-depth study into the recycling of non-reusable post-consumer soles in Europe.
This study aims to explore both closed- and open-loop recycling solutions in order to:
- Speed up the recycling of non-reusable post-consumer footwear at European level
- Promote a circular economy in the footwear industry
The report includes:
- A state-of-the-art review of existing solutions, based on information gathered from a range of sources, including the specifications of recyclers
- The results of tests conducted on three closed-loop recycling solutions for two types of sole material
Note: the list of suppliers of recycling solutions is intended to be as exhaustive as possible, but needs to be updated regularly in order to remain relevant.
Different processes for recycling footwear soles
Soles can account for over half of the total weight of a shoe. They are generally less complex than the uppers, but recycling remains difficult owing to the diversity of materials used to make them.
Two main strategies are currently implemented:
Complete grinding
of the shoe, followed by separation of the different materials.
Manual or automated dismantling
of the upper and sole in order to recycle each one separately.
The Refashion study looked at three scenarios to test different technologies for recycling footwear soles, for the purpose of closed-loop integration:
Extrusion/injection
for SBS soles
Micronisation
for rubber soles
Devulcanisation
for rubber soles
Extrusion/injection
for SBS soles
Micronisation
for rubber soles
Devulcanisation
for rubber soles
To learn more about this vocabulary, consult our glossary
Consult the glossaryFootwear material library
Our tool for making your material recognition systems more reliable
Developed by Refashion, the footwear material library is a reliable resource for identifying and sorting soles.
It can be used to calibrate and optimise automated material recognition systems and to support R&D projects in footwear recycling.
It is open to system developers, sorting and recycling operators, as well as to research and technical centres working on the development of sorting and recycling equipment.
The library currently includes 122 samples covering the families of materials most often used in soles and heels, with 11 categories of material compositions (7 monomaterial and 4 blends of natural rubber and synthetic rubber).
Ten copies are available for industry players. Contact us for more information.
Players in the recycling of footwear soles
The state-of-the-art review of footwear recycling in France and Europe identified several types of players:
- Technical and innovation centres: research facilities equipped on a pilot or semi-industrial scale to test the feasibility of footwear recycling processes. These tests offer flexibility in terms of volume, but do not necessarily reflect industrial costs
- Recycling processors: industrial operators processing soles and other components through techniques such as extrusion, devulcanisation or micronisation, to produce recycled materials ready for integration.
- Recycled material integrators: companies integrating these materials into their products as part of a closed loop (same use as the original) or open loop (new use), in order to use fewer virgin materials.
- Machinery manufacturers: designers and suppliers of the equipment required at the various stages of recycling, from dismantling to processing.
Watch the presentation of our study at the 2025 Refashion Recycle Summit:
